The End of the Path
by DragonScouter
Summary: Peace on Cybertron. Nothing seems to be able to stop it. But, demons arising from the darkness left behind could spell catastrophe for the Dragon Scouters, Autobots, and Decepticons as they try to hold together the peace that they have all worked so hard to accomplish. Is this the end? Rated just in case. Third in the Journey Chronicles. Follows after The Path Less Taken.
1. Early Surprises

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: I am surprised. Authoress usually takes longer to put up a new story.**

**Chaom: I guess she just had a lot of good plot bunnies, or whatever it is that they are called.**

**Megatron: Yes, but couldn't that mean that she has something big planned?  
**

******Authoress: Well, you all will find out. *smirks***

**All bots: *gulp***

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Ch. 1: Early Surprises

Chaom's helm felt really numb when he heard his internal alarm. He was not ready to get up. The previous night, and this early morning, had been difficult and he just wanted to recharge for a few more clicks. But, when he onlined his optics and glanced at Pandimala, he knew that she needed the recharge more than he did. Slowly rising out of the berth, as not to disturb her, Chaom walked into their wash racks and washed off for the day.

As he felt the grime leave his chassis, he couldn't stop his thoughts from going to earlier. He was extremely worried for Pandimala. In the stellar cycles that he knew her, she had never once been sick and she had always gotten a decent recharge, minus a bad recharge dream once or twice. Now, now she was having consecutive bad recharge cycles and now she had a really bad recharge dream and she had purged her tanks until they were completely empty.

Once he was done washing off, he turned off the water before drying off and walking to the energon dispenser. He decided that he was going to get himself a cube of midgrade so he poured himself some before pouring out some low grade for Pandimala with a data pad note reminding her to go and see Balm.

Making sure that everything was ready for Pandimala when she woke up, Chaom grabbed a blank data pad to take notes on before walking out of the door. He smiled as it was yet another wonderful day. It almost made him forget the worries that he had. Sighing to himself, Chaom continued to the meeting.

When he arrived at Fortress Maximus, he walked up the stairs and walked through the front door. As soon as he got in the door though, he found himself on the ground.

"Oh, sorry for running into you there, I didn't see you." A voice said.

Chaom glanced up and saw a strange red mech that he had seen when he had come for yesterday's meeting. The mech was holding out a servo to him so he grabbed it and got up before saying, "That's alright. This will give me an excuse to give the council as to why I am late. Thank you for that. What is your designation?"

The mech seemed confused by Chaom's statement but said, "The name's Cliffjumper. I used to be an assistant to the head of intelligence before he was found to be Shockwave. I immediately stepped down from the post once I found out and Alpha Trion, bless his spark, he took me in and gave me a job as his assistant." He then paused and seemed to study Chaom before asking, "Who are who?"

That caught Chaom off guard. He hadn't met a bot yet, until now, that hadn't known who he was. It was actually kind of relieving. It made him feel like a normal bot again, because all of the attention that he had been receiving because of his mate made him feel like one of those Earth celebrities. But, he knew that it would be impolite not to tell Cliffjumper here who he was so he said, "I am Chaom and it is nice to meet you Cliffjumper."

Chaom was surprised when a relieved look spread on Cliffjumper's faceplate before he said, "Oh, thank Primus that I found you! Alpha Trion sent me to find you and bring you to the meeting. He had feared that something had happened to you since neither you nor Pandimala had arrived yet for the meeting."

Ah, so that is why he was relieved. He had been sent to find him. Chaom smiled and put a servo on Cliffjumper's soldier before saying, "Well then, let's not keep them waiting, shall we?"

Cliffjumper nodded before saying, "Ok, then let's get going."

Chaom nodded before following Cliffjumper to the meeting room. He felt honored that Alpha Trion had worried about them and that he had sent his own assistant to find either him or 'Mala. After a few clicks of walking, Cliffjumper opened the door for him and he nodded his thanks before he walked inside.

* * *

The meeting was boring. Chaom wasn't sure that he was going to get through this without shooting some bot in the helm. Of course, his late night last night was not helping in the slightest. And, somehow, Dragstrip seemed to be talking for even longer than he normally did. Chaom had no idea how he was doing that since he had been at the ball as well. Chaom was almost positive that Primus was doing this to torture him.

"Ok bots, I think that covers everything for our defenses. You may take a thirty click break. When we regroup, we will be discussing energon deposits." Dragstrip stated.

Chaom smiled in relief and went out of the room and made a beeline to the energon dispenser. He really needed some because he felt like he was going to be taken offline if he didn't have something to calm his urges to strangle Dragstrip. When he reached the dispenser, he got some midgrade and chugged the thing down like there was no tomorrow. He was almost positive that he was this thirsty because of the late night he had. His body was probably trying to have him take extra nutrients to get through the day.

Refilling his cube, he was about to take a sip of it when he heard Alpha Trion say, "I see that you must be really thirsty today Chaom. I haven't ever seen you drink that much before."

Looking to his left, Chaom saw Alpha Trion, Ultra Magnus, and Megatron walking toward him. He used his free servo to scratch the back of his helm before saying, "Sorry, I just had a really long night last night."

Alpha Trion nodded and said, "Is that why you were late today? I was worried that you and Pandimala had stayed up to late and were still in recharge when I sent Cliffjumper to find you."

Chaom nodded and said, "Yeah, that was why I was late, but it wasn't by choice, much."

Ultra Magnus raised an optic ridge at that and asked, "What do you mean by that Chaom?"

Chaom sighed and answered, "Well, we did stay later to make sure that everything was cleaned up and we locked up. But, we had gotten home a few cycles before the beginning of today and we had both fallen into recharge nicely. But, Pandimala woke up really early this morning due to a really bad recharge dream."

"What was it about?" Alpha Trion asked.

Chaom shook his helm and said, "I don't think that she would want me telling you for her. But, I will say that it scared her out of her processor and I had to comfort her for a few clicks before I finally convinced her to try and get some more recharge. But, that was when it got worse."

"Do you mean the dream?" Ultra Magnus asked.

Chaom shook his helm again and said, "No, she was about to lie down when she hesitated and I knew that something was off. I asked her what was wrong and she was about to answer me when she suddenly bolted from the berth and into our personal wash racks before purging her tanks until they were empty. I stayed with her until she was done and she had drunk the low grade that I had gotten for her. When that was done, I helped her back to the berth and told her to go and see Balm when she woke up this morning."

"Is Pandimala alright?" Megatron asked.

Chaom shrugged his shoulders and said, "Honestly, I don't know. I think she might be coming down with a virus. I'll find out after she visits Balm today."

The five click warning was then announced so Chaom sighed and walked back to the meeting room. As he waited for the meeting to begin, he couldn't help but worry for Pandimala. He hoped that she would be ok.

* * *

Pandimala groaned as she came online. The previous night was still fresh in her mind. She had no idea what was wrong with her but she knew that she would find out today. There would be no more putting off that she was fine. She had done enough of that with saying that her lack of recharge was due to her body getting used to the war and peace time. But, that purging that she had gone through the previous night had definitely been the final straw. She had to find out what was wrong and fast.

After washing up for the day, Pandimala walked into the main room and went to get her energon when she saw that there was already a cube of low grade poured. Smiling, she took it and started to sip it as she read the data pad that came with it.

_Sweetspark, _

_ Hope this cheers up your solar cycle a little more. Don't forget to go and see Balm and call me when you can with the news. I'll try to survive through these meetings today and I will see you later._

_ Your bondmate,_

_ Chaom 3_

Pandimala smiled at the little heart at the end. He knew that she loved those little things and she was glad that he had added it. She now knew that this was going to be a good solar cycle.

Knowing that she needed to be going, Pandimala sighed before walking outside and transforming before heading to Vos. While Balm lived in Iacon like she did, Pandimala knew that Balm was helping Malice with moving the Decepticons into the city and was there to offer medical assistance just in case something happened.

Fifteen clicks later, Pandimala found herself flying above the city. She knew that Balm was in the main building near the center so she weaved her way around the buildings before she finally saw her destination. Flying lower, she finally transformed when she was close enough to the ground and she jogged a little so she could slow herself down before coming to a stop in front of the main door.

Walking inside, it didn't take Pandimala long to locate the med area. Of course, her job had been made easier when she heard the sound of wrenches being thrown. Chuckling to herself, Pandimala followed the echoing sounds until she came to a stop in front of the door that seemed to hold the source of the wrench throwing madness.

Pandimala had to jump out of the way when Whirlwind ran out. Whirlwind glanced at her before saying, "Hey 'Mala."

Pandimala, on her part, raised an optic ridge and asked, "Do I even want to know?"

Whirlwind took a glance back into med bay before saying, "You can ask her if you want. If I don't get out of here in five nano clicks, Balm is going to have my helm." Whirlwind then ran down the hall. Shaking her helm, Pandimala opened the door and stepped inside.

"Whirlwind, I swear if you ask me one more time for a thruster upgrade I will throw this wrench so hard at you that you won't be able to fly for a stellar cycle." Balm said, her back facing Pandimala.

Pandimala let out a chuckle before saying, "Well, then it is a good thing that I am not Whirlwind."

Balm quickly turned around and smiled when she locked optics with Pandimala. "Pandimala, you should have told me that you were coming. So, why are you here?"

Pandimala sighed and said, "I need a checkup."

Balm immediately frowned and said, "Come and sit on the berth. What is wrong?"

Pandimala did as Balm instructed and sat on the berth before saying, "I have been getting less and less recharge as of late and my intake of energon is slowly increasing. I thought that it was just the change from war time to peace time but last night changed that."

"What happened?" Balm asked.

"I purged until my tanks were empty. I've been drinking low grade to stay on the safe side. Chaom and I are both really worried." Pandimala explained.

Balm seemed to think about that before saying, "Well, we had better scan you and see if you have contracted a virus. Primus only knows that you don't need that right now."

Pandimala then laid absolutely still as Balm scanned her with multiple scanners. She could see that her friend was worried for her. Scrap, she was worried for herself. To her surprise though, Balm let out a huff before saying, "This is weird."

"What is?" Pandimala asked, worried.

Balm paced a little before saying, "I can't pick up any signs of a virus."

Pandimala was now confused. How could she not have a virus with the symptoms she was showing? "But Balm, if I don't have a virus, then what the frag is wrong with me?"

Balm paced a little more before she suddenly froze in her tracks. Pandimala felt worried with the look that Balm was now giving her. It seemed as if Balm was trying to dig deep into her chassis to find the answer. Balm then ran to a supply closet before digging around.

"What are you doing Balm?" Pandimala asked.

After Balm dug around for a few clicks more, she yelled out in victory before she brought out a strange looking scanner that Pandimala hadn't seen before. "I'm testing out a theory." Balm said. She then turned on the scanner before scanning her chest plate area. What was Balm thinking?

When the scanner beeped, Pandimala jumped when Balm suddenly let out an excited shriek and started to bounce up and down. What the scrap was wrong with her? "Care to tell me what you just did?"

Balm stopped bouncing and smiled before saying, "Oh 'Mala, this is wonderful! I usually only get you when you are critically injured and this couldn't be further from it if it tried!"

Pandimala growled and stood up before grabbing Balm's shoulders and saying, "Balm what was that scan?"

Balm calmed down a little before saying, "That was a spark detector scan. Congratulations Pandimala, you are carrying your first sparkling!" Balm said.

Pandimala froze. She was going to be a carrier. That, was…well that was…

"I'M GOING TO BE A CARRIER!" Pandimala yelled out in excitement before lifting Balm up in a hug and twirling her around.

Balm let out a laugh and hugged her before saying, "I'm so happy for you 'Mala." She then got into medic mode before saying, "You need to only drink low grade if you don't want to be purging anymore. Also, no more stress full days for you Pandimala. You let Chaom go to those fragging meetings from now on. I want you getting as much recharge as you can. You need to come see me for a checkup in thirty solar cycles."

Pandimala then thought of something important and asked, "Balm, how far along am I?"

Balm smiled and said, "I would say that you are about thirty solar cycles in already. If this little spark stays on schedule, then it should be ready to be put in a protoform in four human months."

Pandimala nodded and was about to say more when she remembered that she needed to get to Chaom pronto and tell him the good news. So, she smiled and said, "Thanks Balm. I have to go and tell Chaom now!" She then gave Balm a quick hug before running out of the door.

* * *

Once she was in the air, Pandimala felt like she couldn't get to Chaom fast enough. But, the winds were against her and she was making worse time then she thought that she could. Going over the different flight patterns she could take in her helm, she saw that if she detoured to the old warehouse district of Iacon, which was on the other side of the city as Chaom was, she would actually cut down her arrival time by ten clicks. So, she quickly changed her course and started on the new one.

As she flew, Pandimala couldn't stop thinking about it. She was going to have a creation. Her and Chaom were finally going to be starting the family that they always wanted. This would definitely make his solar cycle. She knew that he was probably worried out of his processor for her and she knew that she should probably call in to tell him the news, but she felt like telling him in the metal would be a better way to do it. That way, she could celebrate with him.

When she finally arrived at the warehouse district, Pandimala couldn't help but think back to all those stellar cycles ago when she had first met Ultra Magnus. She had hid in a warehouse very similar to these after he had deflected her sire and he had made her feel so safe that she had hated it when he had to leave after he dropped her off at the housing. It was ironic now that her start as an Autobot, one of the happiest moments in her life before today, had started at a warehouse and she was now flying over warehouses to deliver the best news in the universe to her bondmate.

Pandimala suddenly cried out in pain when she felt a blaster shot hit her right thruster. Feeling herself start to fall toward one of the warehouses, Pandimala felt the strong urge to protect her sparkling so she forced herself to stay in control as she landed on the ground below. Once she was there, she panicked when she noticed that she was in a secluded place that would be very hard for her to escape from. This was not good.

"Well, it is an honor that you could join us Pandimala."

Pandimala turned around at the sound of the mech voice and became very nervous when she saw six bots in black cloaks blocking the entrance, and exit, to the ally that she was in.

"Who are you and why did you shoot me down?" Pandimala stated while backing up. She had a very bad feeling that she was in danger.

The same mech who had talked before chuckled, showing that he was the one in the front of the five other cloaked figures behind him, before he said, "We are the Virons. Why we shot you down, now, that is an easy answer."

Pandimala let out a low growl when she noticed that they were closing her in. She felt trapped and that there was no way out. "Well, what is this answer?" She demanded. Pandimala suddenly panicked when she felt her back hit the wall at the end of the ally. Frag, this wasn't good.

The situation felt even worse when the mech took out a black dagger and said, "Why, we shot you down so we could offline you and frame the Autobots for it, causing the war to begin again with us as the faction that tips the scales."

Pandimala let out a snarl at that and said, "It won't work. They will know that it wasn't an Autobot that attacked me."

The same mech let out an evil chuckle before saying, "Well, let's test out that theory, shall we?"

Pandimala then felt her optics open in fear as all six of the bots lunged at her, daggers out and ready to kill.

* * *

**Chaom: Authoress, you had better not hurt Pandimala or I swear I will throw you in the deepest part of the pit myself.**

**Balm: No kidding. You just had to have the most wonderful thing followed by something evil.**

**Authoress: Well, I do have at least 75 percent of Decepticon coding.**

**Megatron: Don't put the blame on our coding. We wouldn't do anything this evil.**

**Starscream: Yeah, this is more evil then Unicron.**

* * *

**AN: I'm back everybot (and everybody)! I wanted you all to see what was coming up next so I got this up quickly. But, I just couldn't help but leave you all off on a cliffhanger. (Yes, I know that I am evil). Oh, I can't wait to see what happens. Both with if Pandimala gets out of this and how Chaom will react. It should be very, very interesting. Well, until the next chapter, this is DragonScouter, shuffling their feet into their berth for some nice recharge. Please read and review. But no flames. **


	2. Determination

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

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**Chaom: I swear, I will strangle Authoress when I find her.**

**Balm: But what if she didn't do anything that bad to 'Mala?**

**Chaom: Well, then I will only scare her.**

**Authoress: Well, then let's wait until this chapter ends. Shall we?**

* * *

Ch. 2: Determination

Pandimala felt like she should be panicking. These six bots were running at her with daggers drawn, prepared to offline her. But, a different emotion was taking over. While she did feel panic and fear, the most powerful feeling that she was experiencing was to protect. She had to protect the sparkling that she was now carrying on her own spark.

So, with a snarl, she lowered her shoulder cannons before firing a stream of flames in front of her, stopping the mechs in their tracks.

Once the flames cleared, the main mech chuckled and said, 'Well, it seems like this might be more difficult then we first thought." He then shrugged his shoulders before saying, "Oh well, that just means more fun for us."

Pandimala let out a snarl at the mech. She was not going to allow them to come any closer to her sparkling if she could help it. And, if they did come closer, she would make them pay for it. "If you all walk away right now, I will forget this happened." Pandimala tried to convince them. She didn't want to fight them and put her sparkling at risk.

But, the bot on the left of the main mech smashed that hope when he, for he had a mech voice, said, "Well that would cause us a problem since your offlining is what we need for our plans to come through."

Pandimala narrowed her optics at them before asking in a growl, "What are you plans?"

The main mech let out a laugh and brought his dagger up before saying, "Maybe we will tell you as the life leaves your chassis and the light leaves your optics."

Pandimala felt another wave of protectiveness flow through her frame. This caused her to take out both of her broadswords and charge her shoulder cannons before saying, "Well, then you will have to work for it because I will not go down standing idly by."

She then braced herself as the six bots again charged at her. From how they were talking, Pandimala figured that they weren't going to back down, so she decided that only one thing would work. Roaring her battle cry, Pandimala charged at the bots, her broadswords ready to defend her sparkling. When her swords finally clashed with their daggers, Pandimala felt a surge of rage that caused her to strike out swiftly and decisively. As she tuned and blocked off her attackers, she felt like she had created an invincible barrier of flashing metal and nothing was going to get through to her sparkling.

Suddenly, a flash of searing pain going across her right wing caused Pandimala to shriek in pain and retreat to her previous position. When she did, the bots backed up as well, probably to see the damage they had done. Glancing at her chassis, Pandimala saw that there was a slice that probably spanned a meter across her right wing and it had gone deep enough to draw energon but it hadn't gone completely through the wing.

The fighting drive that had driven her earlier had now gone to the escape response. She had to get out of there or risk her sparkling becoming injured. So, even though it was a risk, Pandimala activated her only functioning thruster before launching into the air.

She heard the Virons cry out in shock. She sighed in relief when she shakily landed on the roof top. She stumbled a little before breaking into a run. She had to get away from these bots as quickly as possible. When she came to the edge of the building, she saw that she would be able to jump it so she sped up before launching off the edge. Pandimala felt a jolt of fear travel through her when she heard a shot travel behind her. Risking a glance down, she shuddered when she saw one of the bots below her with their blaster smoking.

Because she glanced though, she lost her concentration and fell onto the roof she was aiming for. Pure panic shot through her systems and she threw open her bond with Chaom before sending her fear, pain, and panic to him while screaming through the bond, **CHAOM!**

* * *

Ultra Magnus was relieved when Dragstrip finished his report on the ammunition store. He didn't know why Dragstrip had to drag all of his fragging reports out for so long. They could be just ten clicks if Dragstrip would just get to the point.

When Dragstrip called for the next break, Ultra Magnus immediately stood up and stretched. He had felt so sore from sitting for so long.

Once he was stretched, Ultra Magnus glanced around the room and smiled when he saw that Chaom had fallen into recharge. Ultra Magnus felt a smile creep on his faceplate as he studied the triple changer. The young mech had so much stress on his processor that he was surprised that Chaom hadn't gone into recharge earlier.

Deciding to let the young mech recharge, Ultra Magnus quietly walked out of the room. After slowly shutting the door so the sound wouldn't waked up Chaom, Ultra Magnus turned and let out a grunt as he ran into a bot. When he finally stabilized himself, he realized that he walked into Megatron, who was talking to Starscream. "Sorry Megatron. I was trying to be quiet so I wouldn't wake up Chaom and I didn't realize that you were behind me."

Starscream walked next to Megatron as Megatron nodded and said, "I understand Ultra Magnus. I too noticed Chaom's fall into recharge. Starscream and I were actually just talking about what we could do to help him."

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "I agree. I know for a fact that Pandimala and Chaom have almost been pushed to their limits with this alliance. Actually, from what has been happening to Pandimala lately, she might have just gone over her limit."

Starscream put his digits to his chin in a thinking matter before saying, "Why don't we record these meetings for them and give them a day off. That way, they won't miss it and they can fast forward all of the useless information that some bots seem to think that we need." He jabbed a digit at Dragstrip when he said the last part.

Megatron nodded and said, "Good idea Starscream. That would allow them some time at home together to relax and just enjoy the peace that they worked so hard to bring to us all."

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "Yes, and I hope that the both of them start to get more recharge soon and that Pandimala starts to feel better. She has been through too much to be having this happen to her now."

Megatron nodded and said, "Yes, I hate it that Pandimala is not feeling well now. She has worked her spark off to make sure that everyone else has been happy but she hasn't had much fun time."

Starscream smirked and said, "Well, I hope that our little surprise for them works and then they might be able to have some, fun."

Ultra Magnus let out a sigh and he and Megatron must have been thinking the same thought because they both helm slapped Starscream.

"YEOW! What was that for?" Starscream asked the two leaders.

Megatron narrowed his optics and said, "You know exactly what for Starscream."

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "So don't try that again."

Starscream smirked and said, "I'll be more subtle with it next time." He then bolted back into the meeting room before either leader could say anything.

Ultra Magnus shook his helm before saying, "How do you deal with him without offlining him?"

"I tried, he just refused to die. So, I just gave up" Megatron stated before following Starscream into the room.

Ultra Magnus stared at where Megatron was for a click before shaking his helm and following Megatron inside. He had a lot to learn about Megatron and he knew that he had better get started soon.

* * *

Chaom jumped out of recharge when he heard a loud banging sound. Glancing up, he glared when he saw that Dragstrip had banged a mallet on the podium that he sat behind normally. "Ten more clicks until we start again." He called out.

Chaom narrowed his optics at Dragstrip. The fragger had to do that at this moment. He was actually enjoying the recharge that he was getting before that fragger decided to wake him up. Stretching, Chaom glanced around and raised an optic ridge when he watched Starscream practically run into the room. He then watched as Megatron and Ultra Magnus followed.

"Have a good recharge?" Starscream asked him.

Chaom stood up and walked up to him before saying, "What have you all been up to?"

"Just talking Chaom. Did you have a nice recharge?" Megatron answered and then asked.

Chaom nodded and said, "Yeah, though the wake up wasn't as pleasant." He glared at Dragstrip when he said the last part.

Starscream followed his gaze before turning back to him and nodding before saying, "I see. Hmm, I think I am going to be having to have a talk with the twins."

"Which ones?" Ultra Magnus said, coming up to them. "I know three sets. But, if I am thinking that you are planning what I think you are, then I would advise using them all. I can tell Jetfire and Jetstorm to meet you at your convenience. I'm sure that Chaom can contact Hindsight and Foresight and ask them to meet you. Plus, I'm sure that you can convince Frenzy and Rumble to meet up with them."

Chaom raised an optic ridge at Ultra Magnus and said, "Didn't think that you would be the bot to help out with this Ultra Magnus?"

Ultra Magnus smirked and said, "Well, your bondmate has a way of rubbing off on bots, especially bots that she is close to. Don't think that I didn't notice the black ink on the mallet a few human weeks ago that seemed to get on Dragstrip's servos right before he faceplate palmed himself when you suddenly came out of recharge by yelling that phrase. What was it again?"

Chaom glanced at Megatron when said mech let out a snort and said, "I believe that it was 'The Redcoats are Coming!'."

They all then let out a chuckle before Chaom said, "There is no evidence pointing that I had any involvement in that."

Before any of them could say anything else, the others bots that were supposed to be present walked inside. Chaom took a seat in-between Megatron and Starscream. He would need the two mechs to hold him back if Dragstrip decided to have another hour long report.

He flinched when he suddenly felt a feeling of pain from his left thruster. When he didn't feel anything afterword, he figured that there was a glitch in his systems and he would have a medic check it out later. He noticed Megatron and Starscream looking at him with worried looks so he said, "I'm fine, just a glitch in my systems."

They looked like they didn't believe him but they returned their gazes to the front as Dragstrip said, "Ok bots, now, we are going to talk about housing developments that will allow us to accommodate the newly arrived bots."

Chaom nodded but froze when he felt something. Fear. He was feeling fear from Pandimala. The results from Balm must be terrifying for her to send him an emotional response. He needed to find some way to excuse himself from this meeting without upsetting the bots around.

He noticed that Megatron and Starscream were glancing at him with worry and he was about to tell him that he really was fine when he quickly rose from his seat when a powerful wave of pain, fear, and panic flooded their bond and Chaom heard Pandimala cry out, **CHAOM!**

"What is wrong Chaom?" Ultra Magnus asked with worry.

Chaom noticed that everybot in the room was now staring at him but he didn't care. He had to get to 'Mala. He could feel his spark pulling him in the direction that she was in.

"Pandimala's in danger." Was all that he snarled before he suddenly charged out of the room. He wasted no time in running outside of the building and transforming into his jet mode before speeding to the location that the pull on his spark was leading him.

Hearing a jet engine behind him, he used his radar and identified the bot behind him as Starscream. Megatron probably sent Starscream to help him when he found Pandimala. Refocusing his attention, Chaom increased his speed, praying to Primus that he would get to Pandimala in time.

* * *

Pandimala felt her spark racing as she leaped across the next rooftop. She wasn't sure where the bots where that were chasing her and right now, she only cared about getting away. She was scared, more scared then she had ever been in her existence. They were after her, her, and they were willing to do anything to kill her. After the first shot, she had to evade three more as she jumped in-between the buildings. She knew that her luck would run out eventually but she was hoping on finding a bot that could help her before that could happen.

Seeing a particularly large gap, Pandimala knew that she would have to use her thruster to get over it. She knew that it was a risk but she knew it was even more of a risk for her to stay put. So, sprinting forward, Pandimala pushed off of the roof that she was running across before activating her thruster and using it to get across.

"Scrap!" She cried out in pain when she felt a blaster shot slam into her thruster and she felt herself slam against the roof of the warehouse she was aiming for before she rolled to a stop. Slowly standing up, Pandimala felt more fear run through her systems when she saw that her left wing was now bent at the tip, meaning that any sort of gliding that she hoped she could do to get out of this situation was now out of the question.

"Well, as much fun as that little chase was, it is now time for you to offline."

Pandimala turned her attention back in front of her and she felt panic when she heard the main mech speak and she saw that she was now surrounded by the six bots. She knew that she had no choice but to fight now so she pulled out her broadswords and held them at the ready, waiting for them to make the first move.

The second mech let out a laugh, telling her that he was to the right of the main mech, before saying, "You actually think that you will be able to hold us off? You are more delusional then we were told. Of course, we will soon be riding the galaxies of your idiotic self."

Pandimala let out a growl at the insults that he threw at her and said, "If you were a true mech, you wouldn't need all of these bots just to take me down. Why don't you face me one on one and find out how persuasive my 'delusions' are?"

The mech growled in turn before the main mech said, "Well, as much as we would love to do that, we need our mission here to succeed and that means that you will need to fall quickly. I do not know how much longer we have before your bondmate catches wind about what we are doing."

Pandimala snarled when he mentioned Chaom. How dare he let her bondmate's name come off of his frag covered glossa? She was going to rip that out of him and shove it so far down…

Her thoughts were stopped when the six mechs suddenly started to close in around her. She felt like this would be the end. So, she gripped her swords, ready to meet her end honorably.

The sound of jet engines was the only warning that she got before a streak of lightning crashed down and struck the main mech and the three mechs to his right, throwing them back and only leaving two for her to handle. But, those two immediately turned to zero when two null ray attacks suddenly slammed into them and threw them back.

Pandimala glanced up as two bots transformed above her in midair before landing at her sides so the three of them formed a circle.

"Chaom! Starscream! Thank Primus you are here!" She cried out in relief. They had come at exactly the right moment.

"Pandimala, who are these bots?" Starscream growled as he followed them with his blaster as the ones behind Pandimala moved to the front to stand with the others.

She growled at them and said, "I will tell everybot at once. Right now, we need to get them out of here."

Both mechs nodded and readied their weapons. But, they were surprised when the main mech said, "Scrap! You were not supposed to be here this early. Fragging femme, you might have won today, but we will be back." They then watched as they jumped off of the building.

Once they were gone, Chaom turned to her and asked, "Pandimala, why were you near here in the first place?"

Pandimala sighed, finally calming down, and said, "I'll tell you when we get to Fortress Maximus. Tell Ultra Magnus to have a medic there waiting in the meeting room for us when we get there. If they ask why, tell them that I am injured and that I do not want to be in a medic center right now."

She could see that Chaom wanted to argue with her but she was glad when he nodded and said, "Ok, can you fly dear?"

Pandimala shook her helm and said, "Even if I didn't have this bent wing, they shot out both of my thrusters. I can't fly right now."

Starscream nodded and said, "Ok then, we will carry you."

Chaom nodded before each of them hooked one of her arms around their shoulders before they both launched into the air and made their way back to Fortress Maximus. As they flew, Pandimala knew that she needed to tell the council about this and was dreading every click; especially since she was going to also be healed in their presence while she talked to them. She was almost dreading going to get healed.

* * *

**Chaom: Authoress has to be the luckiest writer to ever exist. If she had even made Pandimala unconscious, I would have made her existance a living pit.**

**Pandimala: I love you Chaom. But, Authoress would have known who did that to me so would you have so readily let that resource get away from you?**

**Chaom: *sigh* I guess not. But I would have made her squeal to talk.**

**Authoress: You do know that I can hear you, right Chaom?**

* * *

**AN: Well, here is the next chapter everyone! Next chapter will have Pandimala telling the council what happened and she will be telling Chaom that he is going to be a sire! That should be very fun. Plus, we will be seeing just how scary Pandimala can be when...well, that would be telling so I will make you all wait until next chapter. So, while you are waiting, please read and review! But no flames.**


	3. The Sands of Time

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Megatron: Authoress, what is going on with Pandimala? What have you done to her?**

**Ultra Magnus: Yes, she does not normally act like this. **

**Authoress: *smirks* Well, you will be finding out soon.**

**Starscream: Oh frag this will not be good.**

* * *

Ch. 3: The Sands of Time

Megatron was pacing as they all nervously waited for Chaom and Starscream to return from wherever it was that Chaom had bolted to. He was extremely worried about the fact that Chaom had said that Pandimala was in danger. What could have possibly happened to her to make Chaom react the way that he did? He knew that Chaom and Pandimala were a bonded couple so they would always feel what the other felt but Megatron also knew that, Pandimala at least, was very stubborn and she wouldn't have called for help unless it was dire. That made him worry even more and he increased his rate of pacing.

He stopped his pacing, though, when Ultra Magnus walked up to him and said, "This doesn't feel right. I've known Pandimala for too long and I know she wouldn't have called for Chaom like that unless the situation was dire."

Megatron nodded his helm and said, "I have been thinking the same thing. I'm now worried that our alliance will be put to the test very soon." The two of them then stood in silence for a click, waiting for some news.

All of the bots froze when the doors opened. Megatron was surprised to see Ratchet using his magnets to bring in a flyer sized chair with Razor following behind.

"What are you two doing here?" Knockout asked.

Once Ratchet put the chair down, they both turned to them and Ratchet said, "Chaom called me and told me to get over here with a comfortable seat for a flyer to sit on."

"And you Razor?" Megatron questioned.

"Same as him except Starscream just told me to come because he said that some bot needed treatment though he refused to say who the patient was over the comm. system." Razor answered.

Megatron glanced at Ultra Magnus with a worried look and, almost at the same time, Ultra Magnus turned and looked at him with the same look. Megatron was now positive that Pandimala had been injured.

Frag it to the pit! Hadn't she been through enough without this? As he thought about it, he realized that they were coming here right away because they wanted to minimize the number of civilian bots who saw them. Chaom probably didn't want to risk bots questioning the alliance. Glancing around though, Megatron realized that bringing Pandimala in this room that contained energon sucking politicians was just as hard of a choice. From the Autobots that he had met on the council, which was all of them, he wasn't worried about Alpha Trion, Botanica, Chromia, Knockout, Breakdown, or Ultra Magnus. But, he was worried about the other members of the council, especially the one called Dragstrip. He knew that he was the main one that caused Pandimala problems and he knew that the mech would use this situation to his advantage.

The sound of the door opening again drew everybot's attention to said door and they all watched as Chaom walked through first. Then, Starscream followed after him. The two then turned their backs to the bots in the room as they helped the next bot in. Once the bot was through the door, Chaom and Starscream hooked their arms around the bot and helped said bot to the chair. When Megatron finally caught sight of the bot that they were helping, he felt his spark stop.

The bot, who was leaking energon from many wounds, had many dents and other abrasions on their chassis, and who was trying to hide the pain with a look of confidence, was Pandimala.

* * *

Pandimala felt like bolting out of the room as soon as she saw the looks on the bots faceplates when she walked in for them all to see. Most of the bots at least had the decency to look saddened by her injuries, but some bots just looked annoyed that she had interrupted the meeting, which she expected would be a terribly boring one at that.

"Pandimala, what happened?" Megatron asked her as she went to sit down.

Once she was sat down, she turned to Ratchet and Razor before she asked, "Can you two fix me up while I tell them?"

Razor nodded and said, "Sure Pandimala, just get comfortable so Ratchet and I can start working on you as soon as possible."

Pandimala nodded before shifting into position. Once she was ready, and the medics had started working on her, she looked at Ultra Magnus and said, "Now, I think that you would all like to know what happened."

Alpha Trion nodded and said, "Yes. How did you get into this terrible state?"

She cleared her intakes before saying, "Well, I had just finished meeting with Balm and I wanted to get back as quickly as I could to tell Chaom, so I used my jet mode and started flying toward this location. But, I ran into a head wind and I knew that it would slow me down greatly so I looked to see what a faster route would be and I found that if I flew around threw the old warehouse district, I would be cutting my time down in half. So, I changed my course and headed toward the warehouses."

"But that doesn't explain how you received those injuries." Botanica stated.

Pandimala nodded and said, "Yes, but it leads up to it. As I was flying over the warehouses, a blaster shot suddenly hit one of my thrusters and I ended up having to make an emergency landing out of my jet form. Once I landed, I noticed that I was in a confined space and I could be in serious trouble. A voice suddenly saying that it was an honor for me to join them had me turning to the only walking exit, and entrance, to the ally that I was in and I saw six bots."

"Wait, you were outnumbered that much? How did you get away?" Chromia asked.

Pandimala sighed and winced a little when Razor started to work on her wing before saying, "I'll get to that. But, back to what I was saying. I asked them why they had shot me down and who they were. They told me that they were called the Virons and that they shot me down because they were going to frame the Autobots for offlining me so the war could start again with them as a faction that would tip the scales. I told them that wouldn't work and that you all would know that it wasn't an Autobot that offlined me. They said that they would test that theory. So they all lunged at me. They must not have known that I had fire as a weapon because they retreated as soon as I fired it and the lead mech, for he had a mech voice, said that this was going to be interesting. We then passed some more words before I clashed with them, this time with my two swords against their daggers. I was doing pretty well, only getting a few of these scrapes, when one of them broke through my defense and slashed my wing here."

She then motioned toward said gash, which Ratchet was currently working on healing. She held back the urge to twitch her wings when Ratchet put the welder flame to her wing. It hurt slightly but she knew that he was fixing it so she could use it comfortably.

"Well, after that, I retreated back some before my processor set went from fight to run. So, I took a risk and activated my remaining thruster before launching into the air and aiming for the rooftop next to me. Luckily, I caught them by surprise because I landed safely before I started to run across the roof, trying to get as far away as possible from those Virons. When I came to the edge of the roof, I knew I had to jump so I could further the distance between us so I jumped across. As I traveled between the two buildings, I heard a shot pass behind me and I risked a glance down. When I did, I saw one of the bots below me, their blaster smoking. Since I looked down, I lost my concentration and I fell onto the next roof. That was when I panicked and yelled for Chaom." Pandimala stopped and let out a hiss when Razor started to work on her right thruster.

Once she got used to the feeling of him working on it, she said, "Well, that happened a few more times and I avoided the blaster shots each time. But then, I got to a gap that was a bit wider than the others and I knew I would have to use my thruster again if I was going to clear it. So, when I pushed off of the edge, I activated it and started to drift across. I almost made it when another of their blaster shots took out my other thruster and I crashed onto the roof because of it. That fall caused the dent in my wing. The Virons then surrounded me and started to charge at me again when Chaom and Starscream arrived and forced them to retreat a little. The six of them then regrouped and faced the three of us before the main mech said that Chaom and Starscream had come too early and they would get me next time. Chaom and Starscream then helped me back."

Alpha Trion nodded his helm and said, "I see. We must find all information that we can about these Virons."

Pandimala was relieved when Razor and Ratchet backed up before Razor said, "Ok, you should be fine now Pandimala."

Ratchet nodded and added, "Take it easy for a cycle and get plenty of rest."

Pandimala sighed at that. Between both Balm's and their diagnoses, she would be berth ridden for the next four Earth months. Standing up, she asked, "Could all of you bots wait here for a little while Chaom escorts me to get a cube of energon? Even you two; Razor and Ratchet. I have an announcement to make."

She was having Chaom come with her so she could tell him first, about the sparkling. She was glad when most of them nodded so she grabbed Chaom's servo and pulled him to the dispenser. Once they arrived, she got a cube of low grade and took a drink.

While she was refueling, Chaom asked, "Pandimala, you usually don't ask for us two to be alone during that kind of situation. Does this have to do with your meeting with Balm?"

Pandimala nodded. She knew that he was worried when she was sick and they didn't know what was wrong and he probably wasn't feeling better now that she was isolating him to tell him this next piece of news. "Yes it does. I wasn't the only being that the Virons attacked today. This being was the reason that I acted so much on my emotions instead of my processor."

Chaom looked worried and asked, "Is the bot alright? Why didn't you tell us when Starscream and I arrived?"

Pandimala shook her helm and said, "The being is just fine, just fine. And I didn't want to say anything when you and Starscream arrived because I wanted you to be the next one to find out about this being."

"Who else knows about this mysterious bot?" Chaom asked curiously.

"So far, just Balm and I. I didn't give those Viron characters one hint about the being." Pandimala answered.

"Sweetspark, can you tell me about this bot now?" Chaom asked.

Pandimala smiled and hugged herself before glancing up at Chaom and sending loads of love through their bond before saying, "Chaom dear, the reason that I have been getting less recharge and why I got sick the other night is only explained by one thing."

"What is that dear?" He asked, though his tone was a lot lighter.

Pandimala felt her grin grow as she said, "Our family is growing."

Chaom raised an optic ridge at that and said, "Pandimala, have you been hanging around Remcy too much? I'm not that great at riddles."

She let out a chuckle at that before shaking her helm and saying, "Chaom, I'm sparked. You are going to be a sire."

Chaom stared at her blankly, pointing to the area of her chestplate that held her spark and at her before he pointed at himself. He did this for about a click before smiling and drawing her into a kiss. Pandimala was so happy that he now knew. Now, she could tell everybot else that she knew about this wonderful little spark growing on her spark.

* * *

Ultra Magnus was curious as to why Pandimala had purposefully pulled Chaom out of the room alone. He figured that she was telling him what Balm had found out and he was now finding himself hoping that she was going to be ok. Walking up to Megatron and Starscream, he said, "What do you think she is going to announce?"

Megatron just shook his helm and said, "With Pandimala, it could be anything. Last time she announced something, she said she was going to have that dance for her anniversary. Who could have predicted that?"

Ultra Magnus nodded his helm and said, "True. I just hope that she is ok. I honestly felt my spark freeze when she walked inside here in the condition she was in."

Starscream nodded and said, "When we found her, those Virons were charging her and she was ready to fight them to the end. I hope that she isn't infected with a dangerous virus."

Ultra Magnus nodded and was going to say more when a cheer ringing through the Fortress caused everyone to go silent.

"What the frag was that?" Dragstrip asked in an annoyed tone that hid a hint of curiosity, only a hint though.

"That sounded like Chaom." Ratchet added.

Ultra Magnus now felt slightly relieved. If Chaom was cheering that loud, that meant that Pandimala didn't have some existence threatening virus. But, what could she have told him to make him that happy?

They didn't have to wait long when, a few clicks later, Chaom came bursting into the room with the largest smile planted on his faceplate. The young mech then ran up to Knockout and grabbed his servos before dancing in a few circles with said mech before running up to him and, to his surprise, actually picking him up before turning around with him before setting him down and doing some twirl dances with Starscream.

"Chaom, what has gotten into you?" Starscream asked as Chaom finished twirling him and went to pick up Megatron.

As he did pick up the warlord, Chaom said, "The most wonderful news ever."

Ultra Magnus raised an optic ridge at that before asking, "And what would that be Chaom?"

"Chaom if you take away my shining moment, I swear on Primus that you will be sleeping outside our berth room window." Pandimala threatened as she walked in, though Ultra Magnus could see the smile that she had plastered on her faceplate as well.

"So, what is this news Pandimala?" Megatron asked.

Ultra Magnus watched as Pandimala's smile got bigger before she said, "Well, the Dragon Scouter side is going to be adding a new member to its ranks soon."

"That's it?" Dragstrip asked in disbelief.

Alpha Trion, being the intelligence mech that he was, shook his helm and said, "Pandimala, you must stop spending so much time with Remcy. Could you not speak in riddles now because I can never guess them when it comes with you Scouters?"

Pandimala shook her helm and said, "You know, Chaom said the same thing about Remcy when I told him about the new member just now."

Ultra Magnus then stepped forward and said, "Well, smart mechs think alike. But, could you please inform us about this new bot?"

Pandimala smirked and said, "Well, the being will be here in four Earth months."

Botanica nodded and said, "Ok, what are the bot's colors so we can find them and greet them quickly?"

Ultra Magnus became confused when Pandimala shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't know. I haven't seen the bot."

Breakdown nodded and said, "Ok, can you tell us if the bot is a mech or a femme?"

Again, Ultra Magnus was confused when Pandimala shook her helm and said, "Nope, I don't know that either." Now he was beginning to suspect that she was playing some game with them. He knew that the Dragon Scouters would normally delve into a bots records somewhat to find out at least the basic things about them like gender and coloring.

Starscream then stepped next to Ultra Magnus before asking, "Do you at least know which planet the bot is from?"

Ultra Magnus felt relieved when Pandimala nodded but became confused again when she said, "Yep, the bot is here on Cybertron. Actually, the bot is very nearby."

Ultra Magnus raised an optic ridge at that and asked, "How do you not know the bots gender or what it looks like but you know that the bot is very nearby?"

Pandimala's smirk grew larger before she sighed and said, "I guess I can stop playing with you all. The new bot is in this room."

Ultra Magnus still couldn't figure out what Pandimala was playing at but he was surprised when Megatron suddenly let out a laugh and actually fell over laughing. Megatron laughed for a click before standing back up, still chuckling, and saying while giving Pandimala a hug, "Oh, that was very clever Pandimala. Congratulations on your new member."

Dragstrip let out an annoyed growl before saying, "Can one of you three please inform the rest of us what is going on?"

Pandimala nodded and stepped forward before saying, "Yes, it is a very simple answer. When I went to see Balm today, I was afraid that I had contracted a virus. I just found out today that I am going to have a sparkling."

All of the other bots who hadn't figured it out stared in shock at Pandimala. Ultra Magnus couldn't believe it. The little femme that he had saved was now fully grown and expecting her first sparkling. He never would have guessed it. Though, now that he knew, those little hints that Pandimala gave made sense. The four months was when the sparkling was coming. She didn't know the gender or the coloring because the sparkling hadn't been born yet. And the other hints were just as clear now.

"Congratulations Pandimala." Ultra Magnus said while walking up and giving her a hug.

She hugged him back and said, "Thanks, but I might not see you as much anymore because Balm has pretty much put me on berth rest for the rest of my term."

Chromia nodded and said, "That is the best thing to do. But, I am worried about these Virons. You said that they suggested that they might try to come after you again. I am worried about your safety."

Everybot turned to Dragstrip as he huffed and leaned his chair against the back of the wall before he said, "Great, now we get to waste more of our security on,"

But, he didn't dare finish when Pandimala snarled and, faster than Ultra Magnus could follow, she made a movement and a black and lime dagger was suddenly imbedded into the wall a few centimeters from Dragstrip's helm.

Everybot was deathly quiet. None of them dared moved as they all stared in shock at the dagger. Pandimala then walked forward and put her servos on the counter in front of Dragstrip before she said, "I think you had best learn when to keep your trap shut councilmech Dragstrip. It does not serve you well in times like these."

Ultra Magnus then watched as she took back the dagger and stepped back before turning to Chromia and smiling before saying, "Thank you for your concern Chromia. But, I will be having at least one bot with me at all times during my term and most of the time that will be Chaom." She then turned to Chaom and said, "Darling, could we go home? I'm suddenly really tired."

Chaom nodded before taking her arm and saying, "Let's go home dear."

Ultra Magnus then watched as the two of them started to walk out. While they did, he watched as Breakdown looked at Dragstrip and said, "You are lucky that Pandimala is a pit of a shot with that dagger of hers Dragstrip."

He then watched as Pandimala stopped and turned to them before frowning and saying, "What are you talking about Breakdown?" Ultra Magnus felt the energon run cold in his own systems when she glared at Dragstrip and said, "I missed."

All of the bots in the room stared in shock at Pandimala as she walked out with her bondmate. Ultra Magnus was already dreading the emotional Pandimala that they had only caught a glimpse of today. Frag, that femme was scary.

* * *

Shrike felt relieved when they all finally finished the final transform up for the day. Those things were real killers on the chassis and she really didn't like doing them. But, she knew that they were not only helping her upper chassis strength, but they were helping her balance when she transformed from vehicle mode and back. She knew that, with having a motorcycle alt mode, that she would need that balance.

Shrike stood up and waited for Kappo to give the word. She stood at attention as Kappo walked in front of the five of them before saying, "Ok, you bots are dismissed for the solar cycle. Also, tomorrow there will be no training. I have some old friends that will be on the planet and I plan on going over to see them, so take tomorrow to enjoy yourselves."

Shrike sighed in relief before walking up to Alphego and saying, "That is awesome. We could ask the Guardians to give us some more training tomorrow. That would be awesome!"

Alphego smiled and nodded before saying, "Yeah, but what about today?"

Shrike chuckled and shook her helm before saying, "We are going to be enjoying the rest of this solar cycle by relaxing."

Alphego lifted an optic ridge at that and asked, "What are you planning for us to do?"

Shrike smiled and said, "Well, I heard through my contacts that the Crystal Gardens have been reopened and they even say that a new crystal suddenly appeared as they were repairing it. I want to see what it looks like."

Alphego laughed and said, "Sure, let's go see it. Then we can stop by Slap's and grab a cube of midgrade before going somewhere else that you come up with."

Shrike nodded and said, "That sounds like a plan for me." She then walked next to him as the two of them started their walk to the Gardens.

Shrike loved how Alphego was around bots that he knew well, which were pretty much just her and his creators. Being an only creation of two bots that were told that they wouldn't be able to have creations had Alphego receiving the sheltered treatment when he was younger. Backdrop, his sire who is a maroon and black car mech, and Crescent Moonbeam, his carrier who is a black and crystal blue motorcycle femme, were bots who worked at home so they rarely came out and so they could make sure that Alphego didn't leave their side.

Her deal with her creators was the exact opposite. Chainmail, her sire who is a silver and gray truck mech, and Amore, her carrier who is a pink and blue car femme, were heavily involved with the intelligence workings so they were rarely home. And that meant that she usually had to go and get the necessities that she needed for the household on her own. But, that also meant that she got to go on some adventures and, as long as she was tidied up after them, she didn't worry her creators about them.

The only reason she even knew Alphego was that he had once gotten separated from his creators when he was a youngling. His creators had brought him with them while they had to go to a client's house because of some problems. While they were walking there, a big crowd suddenly came through and Alphego was separated from them. When the crowd dispersed, Alphego couldn't find his creators and he was scared. She remembered what happened afterwards like it was just the other solar cycle.

Flashback:

"_Carrier? Sire? Where are you?"_

_Shrike turned from where she was eating one of her energon goodies from the pack that she had just bought and looked for the source of the worried mech voice. She was surprised when she saw a motorcycle youngling that was around the same age that she was standing there. Seeing that he seemed very concerned about his creators, she stood up from the step that she was sitting on and walked over to him._

"_Are you alright?" Shrike asked him._

_She was surprised when the mech jumped and turned to her and backed up a pace in a little fear before asking in a hesitant voice, "What…what are you doing?"_

_She smiled one of her best smiles and said, "I just wanted to see if you were alright. You seemed scared."_

_She was surprised when he nodded and said, "I am. I've never been away from my creators before and I am worried." Most mechs their age that she had met would normally try to deny that they were scared but this mech was honest and said what he was truly feeling._

_She smiled and held out her servo before saying, "I don't have a name yet but it is very nice to meet ya. Why don't we sit on the edge of the fountain and wait for your creators to come back? Most come back to the places that they last saw us when they lose us."_

_Shrike had seen that he was hesitant but she was glad when he hesitantly took her servo and shook it before saying, "Ok, I guess that would be fine."_

_The two of them then hopped onto the edge of the fountain and waited. While they were waiting, Shrike took out the energon goodies that she had just bought and opened them up before holding the box out to him and saying, "Do you want some?"_

_He nodded and smiled a big smile before taking one and saying, "Yes! Thank you I love energon goodies!" _

_She smiled back a big smile before grabbing one herself and saying, "You're welcome." They both then tossed them in at the same time and, once they had swallowed them, Shrike had said, "You know, compared to most of the mechs that I have met that are our age, you are pretty cool. Do you want to be friends?"_

_She was glad when he had hesitantly nodded and said, "Sure, I mean yeah, if you want to."_

"_Of course I do. I wouldn't have asked you in the first place if I didn't." Shrike had said with a laugh._

_Her and Alphego had then sat there and got to know each other for the next cycle, though most of that time was spent with her telling him of her adventures that she had already been on. She had just finished a story about one time when she had slipped at the top of an icy hill and had slid all the way down to the bottom on her pedes when his creators ran up to them with relieved looks on their faceplates._

"_Oh Alphego, I was so afraid when we realized that we had lost you that I thought I would never see you again!" Crystal Moonbeam, or Moonbeam as she now asked Shrike to call her, had said while hugging Alphego._

_He hugged her back and looked at them both before saying, "I was afraid when I couldn't find you two. But then she helped me calm down and sat with me. We are friends now."_

_Backdrop had looked at her with a smile and said, "Well little femme, I guess we owe you a thank you for helping our creation. Who are your creators?"_

"_Chainmail and Amore." Shrike had answered right away. Before her creators would allow her to stay by herself, they made sure that she would always be ready to answer anybot's questions if they had any._

_To her surprise, Moonbeam smiled and said, "Ah, so you are Amore's little femme that she has told me about. It seems though, that every time I have a click to drop by, you are somewhere else. It is nice to finally meet you."_

_Shrike was curious about how Moonbeam knew her carrier so she asked, "Ma'am, how do you know my carrier?"_

_Moonbeam let out a chuckle at that and said, "Well, you carrier and I were in the same boot camp together." _

"_You two ready to go?" Backdrop had asked Alphego and Moonbeam._

_The two nodded and they had been about to walk off when Shrike went up and tapped Backdrop's leg. He looked down at her and asked, "Is there something that I can do for you?"_

_She nodded and said, "Could I come over and play with him sometime?" She then pointed to Alphego to clarify who she was talking about._

_She was relieved when they had nodded and Moonbeam had said, "Of course you can dear. It seems to us that you two are already friends and I feel like he would have been asking to see you eventually."_

_Backdrop had nodded before saying, "Actually, do you want to come over now?"_

_She had nodded her helm and said, "Yes please!"_

_The four of them had then walked off._

End of Flashback.

Shrike had eventually convinced Backdrop and Crystal Moonbeam to allow her to stay with Alphego at their home when they would have to go out on call. When the two of them had become adults, his creators had been worried because they didn't want Alphego to go to boot camp but yet, at the same time, they knew that he had to. When she had found out, thanks to her creators' contacts, that she was going to be in the same troop that Alphego was she had sworn to Alphego's creators that she would watch him. She had been glad when they relaxed after that.

"Here we are Shrike." Alphego said while lightly elbowing her to get her attention.

She glanced up and smiled when she saw the entrance to the gardens. She then walked next to Alphego as they entered the almost enchanted place. Shrike wanted to see the new crystal right away so she grabbed Alphego's servo before pulling him to the end. Once they got there, Shrike stared at the new crystal in amazement.

The crystal was lime green but it had a strange blue glow to it, almost like it had a spark surrounding it. Shrike had never seen anything so beautiful before. This was truly a beautiful crystal.

After she stared at it for a click, she stood up and glanced at Alphego before saying, "Let's head to Slapjack's now. I just wanted to see the crystal."

He nodded and smiled before holding out his arm and saying, "Ok then, can I escort you?"

She gladly took his arm before saying, "Now our brave adventurers partake on the long path to Slapjack's!"

The two of them then laughed as they made their way to the bar. As they made their way, Shrike was glad that she had helped the scared mech that had become her best friend.

* * *

Sentinel was shocked when he heard that Pandimala was sparked. When Dragstrip had told him, he had thought that the councilmech was trying his servo at some humor. But, he had been proven wrong when the others said the same thing. He knew that his new allies would need to know this information. It could prove useful for future attacks.

And that was where he was heading right now. He had contacted the Virons on the frequency that they had given him and said that he had information that he had just found out that was important. They had given him some coordinates in the old warehouse district and had said for them to meet them right away.

When he got to the designated warehouse, he glanced around to make sure that no bot had followed. Once he was positive that he was alone, he opened the door and walked inside. He was surprised to see five of the six Virons sitting with each other, treating wounds.

When he finally located the leader, Sentinel walked up and said, "Since Pandimala is alive and you are all repairing injuries, I can assume that something went wrong?"

The leader nodded and said, "Chaom and the bot Starscream arrived before we could finish the job. Pandimala seemed to be more defensive then what all of our reports have told us she has ever been."

Sentinel nodded because he knew the reason why. Bots were always more protective when they were carrying.

"Yeah, and that femme seemed to have mood swings from running away from us to wanting to fight us until her spark was exhausted." The second in command said.

The leader stood and paced before saying, "Yes, and that has me concerned. She has become an unpredictable opponent and those are usually much harder to take down then normal bots. And, while I would love to just go after any bot and have it work, we all know that Pandimala is the only bot whose offlining would be catastrophic to their little 'alliance'. Plus, if we attacked any other bot, Pandimala would be the driving force that would join the factions together to hunt us down; instead of having them tear each other apart."

Sentinel nodded and realized that he needed to tell them the information that he had found out so he said, "I can tell you bots why Pandimala was more defensive this solar cycle then has ever been reported. I just found out this solar cycle myself."

The second in command raised an optic ridge at that and walked over to them before saying, "What do you mean? Are you saying that something was causing her to act this way and it wasn't just natural changes?"

Sentinel nodded and said, "Yes. Pandi' just found out today that, instead of having a virus, she is sparked with her first sparkling."

"Ah, so that would explain her extreme strategy changes that she would use and why she seemed to fight more dangerously then most bots dare." The leader commented.

Sentinel nodded and said, "But, from what I have heard from my sources, she is going to always have a bot with her from now on. So, it will be harder to get her alone."

One of the other mechs walked over to them and shook his helm before saying, "We wouldn't need to get her alone, exactly. We would just have to wait until she is with a weaker bot that we could neutralize quickly."

The leader nodded and said, "He is right, Sentinel. We will just have to play the hand that we have been given correctly. Once we do, we will demolish our enemies and they will scream our names for mercy. But, we will show none." He then stood and said, "The alliance will fall and their energon will run through the streets while the Virons take their place as the rightful rulers of this world. All hail the Virons!"

The five others and Sentinel then raised their servos and yelled.

"ALL HAIL THE VIRONS!"

* * *

**Chaom: Pandimala, we are going to have a sparkling!**

**Pandimala: Isn't this exciting? I wonder if we are going to be having a mech or a femme?**

**Starscream: Well, we will find out, won't we?**

**Authoress: Yep, but first, Pandimala, you have to tell your carrier and sire that you are sparked.**

**Pandimala: *gulp* Oh, this will not be fun.**

* * *

**AN: Well, this was an interesting chapter. I wonder who all of these Viron bots are? Also, I wonder how much Malice is going to get excited over Pandimala being the first of her creations to be having a sparkling? Well, you will all find out eventually, though I can't promise when it will be. until then though, please read and review. But, no flames.**


	4. Some Peace and Music

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs; past, present, and future.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Ok, let's see what kind of torture that Authoress can have my creators bring down on me.**

**Authoress: Oh, it won't be that bad.**

**Chaom: Have you met her carrier? She is going to be overjoyed when she finds out.**

**Authoress: Yes, I have met her carrier. I created all of you out of my mind, remember? I know more about you then you do.**

* * *

Ch. 4: Some Peace and Music

Pandimala was extremely anxious as she got ready to leave with Chaom. They were going to go tell her creators that she was sparked. She felt anxious because she knew that they would be very excited that they were going to be finally getting a grand creation, since Betaxia hadn't said anything yet about being sparked.

"Pandimala, if you don't stop fidgeting, I am going to just call your creators and tell them myself." Chaom said with a smile.

She smiled back and hugged him before saying, "Well, if you would just hurry up with that cube of energon, then we could be on our way and then I wouldn't be anxious anymore."

He let out a laugh and finished drinking his energon before setting the cube down and saying, "There, ready to go now?"

She quickly nodded before she ran out of the house and jumped into the air before transforming and flying to Kaon. Glancing back, she saw that Chaom was a pretty good distance behind her so she got on the comm. link and said, "Come on Chaom, we need to get there as soon as we can!"

He chuckled and sped up so he was flying next to her before saying, "Pandimala dear, we will get there soon enough. Plus, you don't want to have to take a break before telling them that they are going to be grand creators."

She huffed and did a random barrel roll around him before ending up exactly where she had been previously while saying, "Fine, you win. But if they aren't there when we get there, I will be upset with you."

A few minutes later, the couple landed in Kaon and started to walk through the city. Pandimala could tell that the city was going to be in much better shape than it had been before the war. She could see that the 'Cons were making sure that they were taking care of the mess that had been there when they had returned and they were keeping the walkways and streets clear.

When they finally arrived at her creators' house, Pandimala felt like she was going to end up sprinting inside and telling them the good news. But, she decided that she was going to trick them and act all serious, like something had gone wrong with Balm's finding, before telling them the good news. She quickly told Chaom her plan before she rang the door chime.

When Malice opened the door, she smiled and said, "Pandimala, Chaom; it is nice for you both to come for a visit. Come inside."

Pandimala nodded and they both followed her carrier inside before arriving in the living room. Once they were inside, she saw that Pandemonium was sitting on one of the chairs. Malice took the other chair and motioned for them to sit on the couch.

"So, what brings you two down here?" Pandemonium asked.

Pandimala gave her best fake worried look before saying, "Well, I hadn't been feeling good for quite some time and I got really sick after the ball so I went to see Balm yesterday morning."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Malice asked.

Chaom put a servo on Pandimala's before saying, "Well, we didn't want bots to worry if it was just a simple fix."

"What did you find out?" Pandemonium asked, getting to the point.

Pandimala sighed and said, "Well, there is really no other way to put this;" She then put her helm down and Chaom wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Out of the corner of her optics, Pandimala could see the extremely worried looks on her creators' faceplates and she knew that Chaom and she had played this out perfectly.

Deciding to finally give them the good news, she raised her helm and let off the biggest smile she could before saying, "I'm sparked!"

Pandimala smiled when her creators' both looked extremely shocked for about a click. She was almost afraid that they were stuck in that position until her carrier let off a giant smile before squealing in excitement and saying, "I'm going to be a grand-carrier!"

Chaom had to move off of the couch when Malice ran over and sat next to Pandimala, where Chaom had been previously sitting, before saying, "We need to plan."

* * *

Tana let off a small growl as she ducked the punch. She had let her opponent in too close and they had almost made her pay for it. Of course, when she charged forward and slammed the practice soligram with her flail and it disappeared, she knew that she was almost back to her full potential. Now she was excited. This meant that they could all start looking for Pitch and his cronies.

Walking out of the training room of Guardian HQ, Tana made her way to the communications area before walking inside and seeing the other five mechs sitting there. Hinge smiled up at her and said, "Nice job today Tana. Once we find a clue about where Pitch and his followers are, we can all go down and teach them a lesson they won't soon forget."

Blackbit shook his helm and said, "Yeah, they will be thinking about how stupid it was to attack one of us while they are being tortured in the pits for all eternity once we rip out their sparks."

Tana nodded and said, "Sounds like a good plan to me." She then glanced around and said, "So, has anyone heard any news about 'Mala?"

Chem shook his helm and said, "Nothing yet. Ultra Magnus said that he would tell us the news, unless Pandimala made him promise not to, as soon as he had a free moment. And, obviously, that hasn't happened yet."

Tana nodded and sat down in the empty seat next to Blackbit. She knew that Pandimala had been worried sick when she had learned that she had been attacked. Tana felt no different right now for Pandimala.

The last time that Pandimala had been sick, that she remembered, was when she was a few human months after she had come to stay at the shelter. She had contracted a virus. It wasn't serious but Joint and Blockade had made her stay in berth until the virus was completely out of her systems, which took three solar cycles. During that time, Tana and Zarron had made sure to visit her.

But now, now she couldn't visit because they weren't even sure what Pandimala had. Tana huffed in frustration and said, "I wish that somebot could just contact us and tell us what the frag is going on."

A beep suddenly coming from the console had them all looking at it as Hindsight walked up to it before he said, "Well, you might just get your wish. Malice is calling in."

The others all looked at each other with confused looks. Malice normally didn't call them and it was a rare thing that this was happening. Hinge walked forward and allowed the call though. They all then had looks of understanding when the visual cleared up and they saw Chaom.

"Hey Chaom, what is Pandimala's status?" Hinge asked.

Chaom smiled and said, "Well, it is actually very good. I just called to tell you,"

"CHAOM I TOLD YOU I WANTED TO TELL THEM!" They all heard Pandimala shriek before she suddenly rammed into him, throwing him off of the visual. The Guardians all stared in shock. Did Pandimala just do that? Tana regained her composure when Pandimala turned to them and said, "Well, I got some really good news today. We found out that I am sparked!" She then cut the line.

The six of them stared at the screen in shock. Well, that was until Foresight said, "Well, that explains why she rammed into him." The rest of them just faceplate palmed.

* * *

Zarron felt like he was going to offline of boredom. Ever since he and Beam had settled on Cybertron, he had been trying to keep himself busy. But, he had not been able to find anything to do this solar cycle. He had been planning on going out with Beam but, before he could ask her, she said that Tune and Scale had asked her to come and train with them at the dojo. Since they hadn't seen the twins in a while, Zarron had been just fine with her going.

But, now he was sitting in their living room with nothing to do. He had tried watching T.V. but the only thing that was on was stupid politics and he heard enough about that from Beam when she would come back from seeing Ultra Magnus to drop of reports from the Scouters.

The sound of his door chime going off had him on his pedes and almost running to the door. Almost any company was good company right now. Opening the door, he was surprised that Bumblebee was standing there. But, not to be rude, he motioned inside and asked, "Would you like to come in?"

Bumblebee nodded and said, "Yeah."

Zarron then led him to his living room before he sat in one of the chairs and motioned for Bumblebee to sit in the one in front of his. "So, why I am glad that you came, I must ask; why did you come down?"

Bumblebee sighed and said, "Well, I was just wondering when we were going to start training again? We haven't been training since before the alliance and I want to keep learning."

Zarron faceplate palmed himself. He had been so busy trying to get settled that he had totally forgot about training Bumblebee. Sighing, he said, "I'm sorry Bumblebee. This is actually the first solar cycle in a while that I haven't been running from one place or another. So, why don't we tackle another aspect of scout training?"

Bumblebee nodded and started to get up. Zarron shook his helm and motioned with his servo for Bumblebee to sit down so the young bot did before asking, "Aren't we going to train?"

Zarron nodded and said, "We are, but we are going to be doing a different kind of training."

Bumblebee raised and optic ridge at that and asked, "What do you mean?"

Zarron smiled and said, "Well, most times, a scout must be silent. But, in some cases, you must speak. These times would be if you lost the path of the bot you were tracking and had to discreetly see if the bot had come through a city. Let's say that you were tracking Prowl down and you lost him."

"I would be fragged." Bumblebee said.

Zarron shook his helm and said, "No, you would need to see if anybot had seen him or knew where he was going. But, you would also have to look out for bots that would warn Prowl. So, let's say that you saw me and figured that I wouldn't tell Prowl if I told you, but some bots that would are nearby so you want to be as discreet as possible; how would you do it?"

Bumblebee seemed to think for a click before smiling and saying, "Hey, I haven't seen you before. You come around here much?"

Zarron knew that Bumblebee was play-acting so he said with a gruff voice, "Maybe, what about it?" He wanted to see how Bumblebee would react to a mistrusting bot.

Bumblebee shrugged and said, "I was looking for one of my friends and I was hoping to find somebot who had seen him."

Zarron shrugged and said, "Might have seen him. What does he look like?"

"He is dark colored and he is a motorcycle mech." Bumblebee said.

Zarron was proud of Bumblebee. He gave enough information to identify Prowl with but not enough to make it obvious that he was looking for the bot for other reasons. So, he pretended to think and said, "Well, I did see a dark colored motorcycle mech leave here not ten clicks ago. If you run, you can catch him."

Bumblebee nodded and said, "Thanks, uh, what's your designation?"

Zarron was glad that 'Bee had remembered that little trick. This would help establish that bot as a future helper if he had to track another bot. So, Zarron smiled and said, "Gearcrank." He then patted Bumblebee's shoulder before saying, "Great job Bumblebee. I'm not sure when I will have another free day but, when I do; I'll give you a call and take you to the main scout training facility if I can."

He was glad that Bumblebee looked excited. The two then started to talk about what had been going on in their lives.

* * *

Chaom smiled as he walked with Pandimala through the streets of Iacon. After they had finally gotten Malice to let Pandimala go out and take a walk, he had wasted no time in getting both his mate and himself out of there. Not that he didn't like Malice and Pandemonium, but Malice could talk forever if they didn't get out quick.

"Chaom, look over there." Pandimala said while pointing to a stand.

Chaom looked at it and smiled when he saw that they were selling Earth music for bots. "Well, I'll be. I wonder how those got here?"

Pandimala raised an optic ridge at him before saying, "Darling, I can name two sources, Swindle and Lockdown, off the top of my helm. Plus, there are probably more out there that I don't know."

He laughed and said, "Of course, how could I forget?"

She then pulled him toward the booth before saying, "Come on Chaom, I want to check it out!"

He laughed and let her pull him over. Once they were over there, Chaom was wondering if the stand was closed because he couldn't find the vendor. But, he jumped when Swindle suddenly popped up and said, "Why hello there 'Mala and Chaom. You come over to take a look at what I got? These are only the best of the best of music from Earth. Take a look around and tell me if anything strikes your fancy and I will play it on this here music player for you."

Pandimala smiled and said, "Thank you Swindle."

The two of them started to look. Chaom had to say that he was impressed with the selection of music that Swindle had. He saw many familiar titles like ACDC, Kiss, Toby Keith, Johnny Horton, Katy Perry, and Flo Rida. But, he let out a laugh and picked up one CD before turning to Pandimala and saying, "Look dear, it is our CD."

She turned to him and looked at the CD before bursting out into laughter. Swindle must have realized that he had found something because he asked, "Oh, so this is one of your favorite bands. I must say that they are one of the ones that I know the least about, since they weren't around that much, but I must say that they are quite good."

Chaom let out a laugh before saying, "Swindle, while this is one of our favorites, this is our CD. The Metal Aliens was our cover while we were on Earth. All of us first Scouters were the band members."

Swindle gained a shocked, but happy, expression before he said, "Well, I'll be duped. I'll let you good bots keep that one and now I can up the price since this was your CD."

Pandimala smiled and said, "Thank you Swindle."

Chaom saw that Pandimala didn't want to leave so he handed the CD to Swindle before asking, "Could you put this in and play track three? And make sure to play it really loud."

Swindle was only too happy to nod and take the CD before putting it in. When he glanced at Pandimala, he saw that she was smiling so he said, "Would you join me for this dance darling?"

She laughed and said, "Sure, and it should be fun."

He smiled and the two stood next to each other. He then waited for the song to start. It was glad when Remcy had decided to give this song a sing and they were glad that they had recorded it.

_This is something new_

_the casper slide part to_

_Featuring the platinum band_

_and this time we are gonna get_

_Funky (funky)_

_Funky (funky)_

The two stood there and prepared to dance. He could see that bots were stopping what they were doing and staring at the two top members of the Dragon Scouters.

_Everybody clap your hands  
Clap Clap Clap Clap your hands_

_Clap Clap Clap Clap your hands_

As he and Pandimala clapped their servos together, Chaom was surprised to see that the crowd around them had grown. "You all can come and join in if you want. Just follow the instructions that the song gives, get in lines, and follow our lead." He called out to the bots in the crowd.

_all right now we goin' to basic steps  
to the left  
take it back now y'all  
one hop this time  
right foot lets stomp  
left foot lets stomp  
cha cha real smooth_

Chaom smiled when he saw that bots from the crowd were starting to make lines behind them. This was the kind of fun that he and Pandimala loved to have.

_turn it out  
to the left  
take it back now y'all  
one hop this time  
right foot lets stomp  
left foot lets stomp  
cha cha now y'all_

"Having fun 'Mala?" He asked as they did the cha cha.

She looked at him and smiled as they turned and said, "Of course I am dear."

_Now it's time to get funky  
to the right now  
to the left  
take it back now y'all  
one hop this time  
one hop this time  
__Criss Cross  
Criss Cross  
_cha cha real smooth

Chaom let out a light laugh when some of the bots got out of line. "Listen to the words bots." He called out as the next part started. After a few versus, Chaom new that Pandimala's favorite part was coming up so he made sure that he was ready.

_right foot lets stomp  
left foot lets stomp  
right foot again  
left foot again  
right foot lets stomp  
left foot lets stomp  
FREEZE  
everybody clap your hands_

Everybot then did as they were told and clapped their servos. Glancing at Pandimala, he saw that she wanted to have some fun with it so the two of them started to clap their servos against the other's.

Once the song was done, the crowd rang up in a cheer and Pandimala smiled at Chaom before saying, "Thank you dear. This was wonderful."

Chaom smiled and hugged Pandimala before saying, "Anything for you sweetspark, anything for you."

* * *

**Pandimala: *gulps* Uh-oh.**

**Chaom: What dear?**

**Megatron: Authoress did a happy chapter. That means that she is planning something big.**

**Ultra Magnus: So, that means that we should go and hide and pray to Primus that we aren't the ones she attacks?**

**Starscream: Wait, you bots don't even know if she has anything bad planned for you. Remember when she did this and it ended up with her having 'Mala slam her fist into Sentinel's faceplate?**

**Authoresss: Thank you for defending me. I will remember that when the time comes 'Screamer.**

**Starscream: THE NAME IS NOT 'SCREAMER FLESHBAG!**

**Authoress: *whispers to Megatron* Could have fooled me.**

* * *

**AN: Ok, so here is the next exciting chapter to this story. Next chapter will be having some foreshadowing to a major-ish event that will be happening in Ch. 6. Can't wait to see what is going to happen though. Until then though, please read and review. But no flames.**


	5. Techno

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Ok, so what is going on in this chapter?**

**Authoress: Well, you will find out soon.**

**Ultra Magnus: Why can't you ever just tell us anything?**

**Megatron: Because she is the Authoress.**

* * *

Ch. 5: Techno

Pandimala sighed as she and Chaom transformed out of their jet modes and landed before starting to walk down the streets of Vos. She had been having fun when they were listening to the music and she didn't want it to stop. But, she also knew that they hadn't been to Vos for a while and they needed to make a social visit to the city.

"Pandimala, I know that you wanted to stay, but we just need to find something to do while we are here." Chaom said while putting an arm around her shoulders.

She smiled because she knew that he was just trying to make her feel better. So, she said, "Why don't we go and visit Starscream? I think that he will be happy to see us."

Chaom nodded and said, "Of course, my lady. Anything for you."

She let out a laugh and leaned into him before the two of them made their way to Starscream's place. When they got in front of the building though, they were surprised to see Starscream walking out.

"Hey Starscream. How've you been?" Pandimala asked while walking up to the seeker.

He turned and smiled before saying, "I was just going to go and walk around. But, now that you two are here, I think we should go shopping?"

"For what?" Chaom asked.

Starscream looked at him like he was clueless before saying, "Why, for sparkling stuff of course. And, we here in Vos should have most things that new creators should need for their sparkling."

Pandimala let out a laugh at that before saying, "You sounded like a sales bot there Starscream." But, she knew that they needed to start getting items for the sparkling so she glanced up at Chaom and gave her best pleading face before saying, "Could we pretty please go shopping with 'Screamer?"

She was happy when Chaom smiled before saying, "Of course my dear. And, since I know that seekers are very good at taking care of sparklings, he should be a great help to us on our search."

Starscream nodded and said, "Well, then let us get this started."

Pandimala nodded before following Starscream to the different shops. Pandimala really was impressed with the quantity and quality of sparkling items. She now knew that the stereotype was true; seekers were really good at taking care of sparklings and knew the best thing to get them.

The three of them stopped inside many stores to look around. The first was one for a crib. Pandimala was very picky about the crib and refused the first six that the dealer had showed them. But, on the seventh, she fell in love with it. It was a simple black crib that had lime green swirl designs creeping up the bars, reminding Pandimala of vines back on Earth. After that, they stopped at stores and grabbed a few more materials.

When they were finally done, Pandimala smiled at Starscream and said, "Thank you so much for your help Starscream. If you can, could you stop by our house later today? My creators are stopping by to help sparkling proof the house and we wanted to have you there to help."

She was happy when Starscream nodded and said, "Of course Pandimala. I'll be there as soon as I take care of a few things."

She smiled and she and Chaom transformed before flying back to Iacon. She knew that she was going to need a nap before they all got there.

* * *

Sari sighed as she walked down the streets of Iacon. In the time that she had been on the metal planet, she had felt so awkward. All of the other bots towered above her, even the smallest of the bots, and she felt like she wasn't taken seriously.

But, also, she just had this feeling that she was meant to be more than just a techno-organic. It might be the Allspark energy inside of her or it could be something else, but she just felt incomplete, like there was another step that she was supposed to take to be able to accomplish her destiny in life.

"Hey Sari, what are you doing?" Bumblebee asked as he walked up to her.

Sari activated her jet pack and flew up onto Bumblebee's shoulder before saying, "Thinking about things. What about you?"

Bumblebee sighed and said, "I just got back from Zarron's. We did some training and I think that was probably the easiest day of training that I have ever had to do. Plus, he said that once he gets another free day he will take me to a scout training facility." He then looked at her and asked, "What were you thinking about?"

Sari sighed and said, "I was thinking about this feeling that I have been having. This feeling is telling me that I am meant to be more than just a techno-organic. I'm not sure how I should approach it."

Bumblebee shrugged and said, "I don't know Sari. I only know that Elita got turned back from Blackarachnia and that seemed to work out."

That was when the idea hit Sari. It was so obvious that she should have thought about it earlier. "That's it!" Sari exclaimed as she flew off of 'Bee's shoulder. As soon as that idea had come into her head, she knew that it was what the feeling was telling her.

"Sari, what are you talking about?" Bumblebee asked.

She smiled at him and said, "I am going to go ask Balm if she can turn me into a full Cybertronian like she did Elita and you aren't going to stop me. So, you can either come along and find out if this works or you can stay here and not find out."

She was glad when Bumblebee let out a defeated sigh and said, "Fine, let's go find Balm."

It took them about ten clicks to find Balm, who was at one of the med centers there in Iacon at the time. When they asked her, she had made sure that they were willing to go through with this. When Sari said that she was sure, Balm said that Sari would have to get the permission of the leaders of the alliance before she would do the procedure. Balm then proceeded to call Ultra Magnus, Megatron, and Pandimala.

* * *

Pandimala practically ran to the door when she heard the chime go off. She was so excited about sparkling proofing the house that she could barely stand still. This was so much fun.

When she arrived at the door, she opened it and smiled when she saw Starscream. "Hi Starscream. I'm surprised that you got here so soon."

He smiled and said, "Well, after my errand, there wasn't much else for me to do that was more important than this so I got over here as quickly as I could. You say I beat Malice and Pandemonium? That means that I am going to be getting some credits very shortly."

Pandimala raised an optic ridge at the last part and was about to ask about it when she heard the door chime go off again and she walked up to the door and opened it. She smiled when she saw Malice and Pandemonium standing there. "Hi Malice and Pandemonium. Glad you got here."

Malice nodded and ran in before saying, "Is Starscream here yet?"

"I think you owe me fifty credits Malice." Starscream said as he walked in to the hallway from the living room.

Pandimala realized that Malice and Starscream must have made a bet as to who would get to her place first. She smiled when Malice grumbled before taking out the credits and handing them to Starscream. "Don't spend them all in one place." Malice said.

Pandimala decided to cheer up the mood and said, "Well, are we going to just stand around here and do nothing or are we going to sparkling proof this house?"

That got everybot moving. As she worked, Pandimala saw that Starscream and Malice really knew what they were doing. They were taking away all objects that could cause the sparkling harm. Plus, since they didn't know if it would be a flyer or not, they had to take down everything that could hurt the sparkling that was on the ceiling.

She flinched when she heard something clatter and she turned to see the decorative wall hanging that Megatron had given her for Chaom's and hers bonding anniversary; a very expensive and sharp wall hanging. "Careful with that Starscream." She hissed. "That was our bonding anniversary gift from Megatron."

Pandimala noticed that Starscream was a little more careful with the hanging as he placed it in a storage box. She then moved to the shelf that she had a few things on and took down some of the items. She paused when her servo touched a small golden orb that was sitting on a jeweled stand and the stand had an emerald green button.

"What is that?" Starscream and Malice asked at the same time, surprising each other.

Pandimala smiled and placed the orb and stand on the table before saying, "Let me show you." She then pushed the button.

Everyone paused in their work as gentle lullaby music filled the air. About thirty clicks into the music, the stand started to shift and create a wave behind the orb. When the music moved a little quicker, though still retaining its lullaby effect, the orb cracked down the middle and started to unfurl itself, almost like the petals of organic flowers. Each layer would lightly part from the whole and create the background of the scene, which was a star filled sky.

Everybot stared in amazement when the first layer finished and the second layer unfurled forward and created an almost serene picture. Once all the layers were gone, all of the bots could see a video clip of the Crystal Gardens. All of them then jumped when multiple projectors shot the image around the room so it looked like they were all actually standing in the Gardens. After a click, the orb closed itself up and the stand returned to its original state.

Pandimala gently picked up the orb before placing it in a box and saying, "Ultra Magnus gave me that as a bonding gift. He always wanted me to have a way to always see the Gardens, even when I had the possibility of being away from Cybertron."

Malice smiled and said, "That was beautiful."

Pandimala nodded and went to say something when she suddenly got a private message. When she saw that it was from Megatron, she opened it and was confused when she saw that the three leaders needed to be together because Sari and Bumblebee needed to ask them something. She then turned to the others before saying, "I hate to ask this, but can you three finish sparkling proofing this place? Chaom and I need to meet with Ultra Magnus and Megatron. Something, interesting, has popped up."

She could see the curious looks in all of their optics but she was glad when Pandemonium nodded and said, "Sure 'Mala. You better be off so you two won't be late."

She smiled and nodded her thanks before Chaom and her went and made their way to Fortress Maximus.

* * *

Sari was nervous as she waited for Pandimala and Chaom to arrive. She was standing on Bumblebee's shoulder and they were in a room with Ultra Magnus and Megatron. She didn't know how Pandimala and Chaom would react to her request. It was so out there that she wasn't sure that Pandimala would agree with her and support her in this. But, she was hoping that the triple changer would. Plus, she knew that if Pandimala supported her, then, more than likely, Megatron and Ultra Magnus would agree as well.

Sari jumped as the doors opened and she watched as Pandimala and Chaom walked inside. She soon felt herself staring at Pandimala and she shivered when their gazes locked with each other. Sari could feel the power that Pandimala was emitting hit her like a brick wall. Ever since she had been upgraded, she had always had these feelings when she was near powerful bots, or bots that seemed important to the future. She was pretty sure that it was because she had the power of a part of the Allspark inside of her.

Pandimala's smile allowed her to relax a little. Pandimala then asked, "What is it that you wished to ask us Sari?"

Sari knew that this was the moment of truth so she took a calming breath before saying, "For quite some time, I have been having this feeling that I wasn't supposed to just be a techno-organic. It has been eating me alive and I haven't been able to figure out what it meant. But, then Bumblebee reminded me what Balm did for Elita and I realized that it must be my destiny to turn into a full Cybertronian. I then went and asked her to change me but she said that I had to ask you all first."

She watched as Pandimala and the other leaders seemed to think about that. About a minute later, Pandimala walked up and held her servo out before saying, "Sari, could I have a word with you in private?"

Sari was hesitant and looked at Bumblebee. When he nodded she smiled and turned back to Pandimala before hoping on her outstretched servo. Pandimala then turned and headed toward the door. When Chaom stepped toward them, Pandimala held out a stopping servo and said, "Chaom, we will just be outside of the door. You will hear us if anything happens."

Chaom sighed and said, "Fine darling. We will talk about what we think about the subject with Bumblebee."

Pandimala nodded and walked out of the room. Once the door was closed, Pandimala sat on the ground and asked, "Sari, can you tell me why you want to do this, in reality?"

Sari could hear the concern in Pandimala's voice and she knew that she had to tell the truth so she said, "I told you Pandimala, I feel this tug on my spark whenever I think about it. I just know that I was not supposed to stay as a techno-organic. Honestly, that is what I feel. I think that the Allspark, well the part inside of me, is telling me that I am meant to be a full Cybertronian."

Pandimala nodded in understanding and grew a thoughtful look before saying, "We cannot guarantee your safety if you choose to go through with this. It will be painful. Plus, we don't even know if it will work with you. Elita was a Cybertronian before she gained her organic half and you have been half organic your entire existence. You are sure that you want to go through with this procedure?"

Sari knew that these were risks so she nodded and said, "Yes, I want to go through with it. I want to find peace with myself and I can't do that as a techno-organic."

Pandimala sighed and seemed to study her for a minute before smiling and saying, "All right, I give you my support. Now, let's go see what the other leaders say."

Sari nodded and braced herself as Pandimala stood up and walked back into the room. Once she was inside, she walked up to the other two leaders and said, "I have heard Sari's reasoning and she is willing to take the risk that is involved with the procedure. I have given her my support for this. What do you say?"

Megatron nodded and said, "Then I do as well. If she understands the risks, then I do not see why I should stop her."

Sari smiled at him and then they all turned to Ultra Magnus. He stared at Sari for a minute before sighing and saying, "If Pandimala believes that you know what you are doing, than I do too. You have our permission to go through with it, as long as we are present of course."

Sari smiled and said, "Thanks."

Chaom then stepped forward and said, "When do you wish to do this Sari?"

Sari knew that she couldn't wait a moment longer then she had to so she said, "As soon as possible."

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "Very well." He then looked at Pandimala and said, "I will call the med center here next to Fortress Maximus and tell them to allow Balm access to anything that she needs. Pandimala, please call her and tell her to go there and prepare for the procedure."

* * *

**Pandimala: Why do I have this feeling that authoress is planning something?**

**Chaom: It might be because she has been really nice these past few chapters.**

**Sari: Should I be worried?**

**Megatron: Very worried.**

* * *

**AN: Ok, this is the next chapter of this tale! Next chapter should be fun. I can't wait for it to come. But, I have to work on another story before I can do the next chapter. Until the next time we meet, please read and review. But no flames.**


	6. Re-Birth

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and nothing else.**

* * *

**Pandimala: And she is back!**

**Chaom: How are you doing Authoress?**

**Authoress: *smirks* I think the question is how are you doing? *walks away***

**Balm: This isn't good. She is WAY too happy.**

* * *

Ch. 6: Re-Birth

Waiting was never something that Bumblebee was very good at. Yet, he found himself doing just that as he waited for Balm to finish preparing for the procedure. Of course, as any good friend should be, he was extremely nervous. He had no clue how this operation could affect Sari. He didn't know if he would be able to recognize her after this.

Of course, he was also worried about the procedure itself. The only other time on record that it had been used was on Blackarachnia to turn her back into Elita one. But, Blackarachnia had already been a Cybertronian before becoming techno-organic and then back again. Sari had been a techno-organic all of her existence. He was afraid that Sari would get seriously hurt by the machine or, even worse, not survive.

He sighed as those thoughts went through his helm. He couldn't risk losing Sari. She was one of his best friends, with Bulkhead, and he didn't want to lose her. But, he shook those thoughts out of his helm. One of the best ways for something to go wrong was to think that they could go wrong.

"Bumblebee, are you ok?"

Bumblebee turned at Zarron's voice and watched as the black motorcycle mech with blue flames walked inside. Bumblebee shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm fine."

Zarron raised an optic ridge at that and said, "Bumblebee; that was rhetorical. I could see as soon as I entered that you are nervous. Now, you want to try that one again?"

Bumblebee sighed and said, "I guess the student still hasn't beaten the master yet. I'm worried about Sari. I'm afraid that she might get hurt by this."

Zarron walked up and put a servo on his shoulder before saying, "I can't promise you that everything will be alright. That would be a foolish statement on my part. What I can tell you though is that Balm is one of the best medics that I know and she will try her hardest to make sure that nothing happens to Sari that is unplanned. I also know that your friend Sari knows what she is doing. If she truly believes that this is what she is supposed to be, then fate will allow it all to come along as we plan."

He then put his other servo on Bumblebee's other shoulder before smiling and saying, "What we can do is to hope that everything will turn out all right and be there for when it happens. Ok?"

Bumblebee felt a lot better now and nodded before saying, "I guess you are right. Thanks teach."

Zarron laughed at that and said, "No problem 'Bee." He then glanced around before asking, "Where is Sari anyways? I figured that she would be here."

Bumblebee shook his helm and said, "Nah, Pandimala wanted to keep Sari isolated with her before the procedure to make sure that none of us made Sari any more nervous then she already is."

Zarron nodded and said, "That's smart. Pandimala is used to dealing with nervousness and she will be able to help Sari." Zarron then glanced at his internal clock before saying, "Well, we had better head over to the med center so we won't miss this. Care to drive with me?"

Bumblebee nodded and transformed with Zarron transforming next to him. The two of them than made their way to the med center. Bumblebee sent a quick prayer to Primus, hoping that this would all come out ok.

* * *

Pandimala watched as Sari paced the room that they were in for the hundredth time from where she was sitting against the wall. She had asked the med staff to allow her and Sari to use a quarantine room to wait in until Balm was ready to perform the procedure and Sari was ready to undertake it. Pandimala could tell by the way that Sari was walking that she was nervous. She couldn't blame the techno-organic though. If she was taking on a species change, she would be nervous as well.

But, she knew that she had to help Sari calm down so she asked, "Sari, do you wish to talk?"

Sari stopped and looked at her before nodding and climbing up onto her knee joint. Once she was settled, she glanced up at her and said, "I'm just really nervous Pandimala. What if this doesn't work?"

Pandimala sighed. She couldn't give Sari false hope. That would be a cruel thing for her to do, especially if something did go wrong, but she didn't want Sari to feel even more nervous then she already was, so she questioned, "Sari. Do you want to do this?"

Sari looked at her with a confused look before saying, "Of course I do. I already told you that."

"Then you have to believe that you are going to come out of this alright. Even though the chances are unknown to everyone, you have to believe that what you have been feeling is supposed to have led up to this. Do you understand what I am saying?" Pandimala explained and then asked. She didn't want to have just given that spiel for her not to have known what she had meant.

She was relieved, though, when Sari nodded and said, "Yeah, you are saying that if I start thinking that this might go bad, then it will. But, if I think that this will work, then it will."

Pandimala smiled and said, "Exactly. So, even though success isn't guaranteed, it is definitely possible if we believe it to be. Look at the war. No bot ever thought that there was a slightest chance of it ending. Now you see both Autobot and Decepticons talking casually in the streets; almost like the war had never even happened."

Sari smiled and hugged her before saying, "Thanks Pandimala. I really needed that."

Pandimala let out a light chuckle and said, "Any time Sari."

"Pandimala, are you there?" Pandimala heard Ultra Magnus' voice ring out over her comm. link.

Answering it, she said, "I'm here Ultra Magnus."

"Balm is ready to begin whenever Sari is. Please tell me when you two are on your way. Zarron, Bumblebee, Megatron, Chaom, and I are here." He answered.

Pandimala glanced down at Sari before asking, "Are you ready Sari?"

Sari let out a slightly shaky sigh and nodded before saying, "As ready as I'll ever be."

Pandimala smiled at Sari and offered her a servo to stand on before standing up and opening back up her comm. link and saying, "We are on our way Ultra Magnus."

She then walked Sari down the halls of the med center to her fate. Pandimala could only hope that fate was shining on them this solar cycle.

* * *

Balm paced nervously as she waited for Pandimala to bring Sari to the room. It had been different when she had performed the procedure on Elita. Elita had been a full Cybertronian before she was changed back from her techno-organic self. But Sari hadn't. Balm was worried that specific variable was going to mess with the calibrations that she had made.

When the doors opened, Balm turned and watched as Pandimala walked in, Sari in servo. Glancing at Sari, Balm could see that the girl was nervous and she knew that she shouldn't show any signs of nervousness about the procedure so she forced a smile and walked up before saying, "Everything is ready for you. Are you ready Sari?"

Sari nodded and said, "As ready as I can be Balm."

Balm smiled and nodded before holding her servo out to Sari and saying, "Ok then, let's begin."

She waited for Sari to hop into her servo before walking over to the chamber that she had set up. If there was one thing that Balm was happy about, it was that she had been given full access to all of the center's equipment for this. If she would have had to do the procedure back on the Estia, she would be twice as nervous as she was now.

Placing Sari inside the machine so the young girl was standing, Balm knelt to her level before saying, "Ok, this will hopefully not take too long. I won't lie to you. There will be pain. If the pain becomes too much, I have installed buttons at all heights of the chamber that will stop the procedure where it is. You are in control Sari."

Sari nodded and said, "Ok."

Balm studied the young techno-organic for a click before standing up and closing the chamber, Balm walked over to her controls and said, "Ok, are we ready?"

The bots in the room gave her a nod of assent so Balm started to charge the machine. She had already decided that she would try to get this done efficiently but quickly so Sari wouldn't have to suffer as much pain as she might.

Once Balm was sure that the power was at the level that they needed, she said, "Ok, starting the procedure; now."

She then put her servo on the power level lever and gently pulled it down. As she watched Sari's life signs from the scan results that were coming from inside of the chamber, Balm felt relieved. There wasn't anything wrong yet and it seemed that Sari was going to get through this without much of a problem.

When the machine got to fifty percent, the yelling began. Balm winced as she heard Sari but she knew that Sari would push a panic button if she couldn't handle it. Glancing at the others, she could see that they were all torn. She knew that they all wanted to hop in there and stop the procedure but they also knew that Sari had the capability of stopping this if she wanted to. Glancing at the monitors, Balm was glad when they showed that the procedure was ninety nine percent done. This was finally almost over. She even allowed a small smile to appear on her faceplate.

A beeping sound followed by flashing red lights and other alarms brought Balm's attention swiftly to the energy levels. They were going haywire. Balm felt panic start to rise in her systems as she glanced back at the machine and saw it start to glow brighter and brighter and it began to shake violently. Balm knew that this was not good so she darted around the controls and sprinted to the machine.

"SARI!" Balm screamed as she tried to open the chamber.

But, no matter how hard she tried, the yellow green medic femme could not get the chamber to open. She was about to let go and cut the thing open with her saw when the chamber exploded and a wave of energy and debris slammed into Balm and sent her flying across the room. Balm felt her back hit the control panel and part of something fall on top of her before she fell into emergency stasis.

* * *

The first thing that she noticed when she onlined her optics was that there was a blast mark on the ceiling directly above her. She then sat up and noticed that everything seemed to be larger than it was before the procedure started. Glancing at herself, Sari smiled when she saw what she saw.

Guessing from her frame and proportions, Sari was guessing that she was just a smidge shorter then Bumblebee. Her frame looked almost like it did when she was a techno-organic except for a few things. One was that the fabric like skirt that she had been wearing had melded with her frame and now was her frame look. Also, she had a cream colored faceplate. Then, she could see that her orange colored armor had covered her spark chamber and an Autobot symbol was in the center Finally, her jet pack, which she had been wearing during the procedure, seemed to have formatted into her systems and she could now hide it and bring it out of her chassis like Bumblebee could bring out his stingers and then put them back.

When she stood up, Sari glanced around and saw that the room was trashed. Parts of the ceiling had fallen in some areas and much of the area was scorched. Also, the machines were sparking and there was still a small amount of rubble falling.

Sari then realized that she did not see Balm. Glancing around quickly, Sari suddenly remembered the femme yelling her name before the explosion. Glancing around, Sari became worried when she couldn't see Balm.

A moan coming from behind the controls had Sari running over. When she got there, she saw a piece of rubble slightly moving and went to try to help move it. After she helped move the piece, Sari looked to see Balm sitting up. The femme glanced up at Sari for a click before smiling and saying, "You're ok. I was so worried."

Sari nodded and offered a servo to help her before saying, "Yeah, I'm fine. What about you? Are you ok?"

Balm took her servo and Sari helped her stand up. The medic then scanned herself before saying, "I'm a little disoriented right now but I should be fine in a little. Now, sit down and let me do a basic scan. I want to make sure that you weren't hurt from that blast."

Sari felt like arguing but the look she was now getting from Balm was now telling her why the other bots always listened to the medics. So, she sat down on the control panel and allowed Balm to scan her.

As Balm finished the scan and put the scanner away, the doors opened up and all of the bots who had been watching the procedure ran inside.

"Sari! You're ok!" Bumblebee yelled as he ran into the room first. When he got up to her, he hugged her and asked, "You are ok, right?"

Sari laughed and said, "I'm fine 'Bee."

"Well, that is good." Sari glanced up at Megatron's voice and saw that the leaders had gathered in a circle around Bumblebee, Balm, and herself. "We were worried that you had been hurt."

"Balm, what happened?" Pandimala asked.

Balm shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't know. If I had to guess, I would say that the Allspark energy inside of Sari reacted to the energy that I was putting into the system and caused an overload. I'm just glad that her systems are up and running at one hundred percent."

Pandimala smiled at Sari and said, "See Sari, I told you that everything would be fine if you believed."

Sari laughed and said, "I guess you did. I could really use something to drink though." She then turned to Bumblebee and asked, "Can you take me to Slap's? I want to try it now that I am a bot."

Bumblebee looked happy and smiled before nodding and saying, "Sure, let's go!"

Sari smiled when Bumblebee grabbed her servo and led her out of the building and toward the subsection where Slapjack's bar was. She now knew for certain that she had made the right choice in following her feeling to change into a Cybertronian.

* * *

**Balm: You scared the scrap out of me Authoress! You couldn't just let us finish the operation in peace!**

**Authoress: *smirks* Of course not, I had to have some fun with you all.**

**Ultra Magnus: At least we got past the bad scene that always follows the good things.**

**Authoress: *shakes head* Who said that was the bad part? *walks away***

**Megatron: Why does that not sound good?**

***All bots stare after Authoress in fear***

* * *

**AN: I am so evil. Well, this is the most recent chapter of this story! Next chapter is going to be very, very interesting. *evil laugh insert* But, until then, I am going to leave you all wondering. But, while you are wondering, please read and review! But no flames.**


	7. The Discovery

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Chaom: You know what, maybe Authoress won't do anything bad.**

**Megatron: *faceplate palms* Chaom, you know it is when we say that stuff is when she normally does those things.**

**Authoress: Well, you never know. I could be nice. But then that wouldn't be me. *smirks and walks away***

**Pandimala: Um, this is not going to end well.**

* * *

Ch. 7: The Discovery

Pandimala felt like she was on top of the world. The thirty days since her last checkup was up and she was now waiting in her living room with Chaom for Stormfire to come and pick her up. Chaom would have gone with her but he had to go a meeting that she was missing for this.

"How's Sari?" Chaom asked.

Pandimala smiled at that and said, "She is doing pretty well for herself. I think she might want to start training soon. But, Ultra Magnus has told her that he would prefer it if she would wait a few days so she could get used to her new size and form. She agreed with him when he had asked her opinion on the subject. While she was glad that Sari had survived the procedure, she didn't want the femme to push her systems.

"That's good to hear. Then she will be able to help us out some more." Chaom said before asking, "How long is Stormfire going to take to get here?"

Pandimala let out a light laugh before saying, "He will get here when he gets here Chaom. He is flying in from Polyhex after all. Plus, he is going to be escorting me to Praxus to see Balm. I think he is allowed to take his time." Stormfire was in Polyhex helping them finish rebuild. He was now heading to Praxus now to help them finish rebuilding. Since Praxus had been hit the worst during the war, it was taking the longest to fix. Balm was there now making sure that they had medical assistance and to offer help in the repairs when she could.

He sighed in response and hugged her shoulders lightly before saying, "I know. I just wish that I could come with you. But Megatron and Ultra Magnus asked if I could be at the meeting today. They don't want the council to start saying that we are slacking off on our leadership duties because of the sparkling. You will tell me what the gender of the sparkling is going to be when you find out, won't you darling?"

She leaned her helm on his shoulder and smiled before saying, "Of course dear. As soon as she tells me, I will tell you."

The sound of a jet transforming outside told them that Stormfire had arrived. So, she led the way outside and she smiled when Stormfire walked up to them.

"Sorry I'm running late. Whirlwind needed some help with some of the finishing touches of the rebuild." Stormfire explained.

Pandimala nodded and said, "Well, at least Polyhex is now restored and more bots can move there now. Next stop, Praxus. Whenever you are ready of course Storm."

Stormfire nodded but said, "Thanks, but I'm ready to go now. I haven't seen Balm in a few solar cycles and I would like to get to Praxus as soon as possible. So, whenever you are ready Pandimala, we can leave."

Pandimala nodded and turned to Chaom before giving him another hug and saying, "See you when we get back Chaom. Balm told me that she will be escorting me back. Love you Chaom."

He smiled at her and said, "I love you too Pandimala."

He then leaned to her and planted a slight kiss on her lips. She smiled into it for a few nano-clicks and reciprocated before pulling back. She then waved before both her and Stormfire transformed and flew off toward Praxus.

* * *

When they arrived in Praxus, both Pandimala and Stormfire transformed before walking to the area where Balm said that she would be working. As they walked, Pandimala couldn't help but feel the excitement that she was going to be finding out the gender of her little bundle of joy that was currently inside of her chestplate. Every so often, Pandimala could feel little emotions come from the sparkling. Joy when she was happy, playfulness when she was playing a prank, and a small amount of sadness and confusion when Pandimala would become angry with the part of the council that she knew did not like her, which was over half of them.

"So, you have any predictions about the gender Pandimala?" Stormfire asked.

Pandimala nodded and said, "Chaom is almost sure that it is going to be a mech, but I think that we are going to have a femme."

Stormfire smirked and asked, "So, you two having a little bet on the gender?"

Pandimala nodded and said, "Not just us. I've heard that Malice, Pandemonium, Starscream, Megatron, Alpha Trion, and Ultra Magnus have a little bet going on between the six of them. My creators and Starscream are with Chaom and believe that I am going to have a mech while Megatron, Alpha Trion, and Ultra Magnus are with me in thinking that it will be a femme. There are two separate pots. One is in-between the latter six. If my creators and Starscream win, they each will receive fifty credits. But, if the others win, they will each receive fifty credits."

"What is the second pot for?" Stormfire questioned.

Pandimala's smile grew a little more before she said, "The second pot is between Chaom and I. If our little sparkling is a mech, Chaom gets to name him. But, if the sparkling is a femme, I get to name her."

Stormfire let out a little laugh before saying, "Well, those are really high stakes." He then leaned in and whispered, "I hope that you win."

Pandimala laughed and smiled before hugging him and saying, "Thanks Storm."

He nodded and the two of them then continued on to the makeshift med center that had been set up. As she glanced around, Pandimala glanced around and was slightly saddened when she saw the remnants of the burned buildings from the war. Praxus had been the city that had been hit the hardest. She had asked the older Guardians, well just not Tana since Tana was her own age, about the war and they had confirmed the damage.

They then told her that they were first responders to the city and they had been horrified about the destruction that they had found. According to them, they had been surprised about the amount of damage that had been inflicted upon the city in the short time that it had been attacked, and it was still being attacked when they arrived.

But, their visit to Praxus hadn't been all bad. From what they told her, they had found a youngling Radar while searching for survivors. Also while they searched, they had met Hindsight and Foresight and those two had joined the guardians.

As fate would have it, this temporary med center was actually based in the same building where the twins had been stationed with the terrible mechs Thunderwave and Firefog.

Entering the building, Pandimala and Stormfire walked down the halls until they came upon the doors to the med bay. Hearing the sound of talking inside, the two of them walked in and Pandimala saw Balm talking to another medic, who was colored mainly white with red markings.

The two medics then turned to them and Balm smiled before saying, "Stormfire, Pandimala; I was wondering what was taking you so long." The two medics then walked up to it before saying, "I would like to introduce you both to Neuro. Neuro was on the same team as Hindsight and Foresight before they joined the Guardians."

Pandimala smiled at Neuro and shook his servo before saying, "It is a pleasure to meet you then Neuro."

Glancing at Stormfire and Balm, Pandimala let off a small smile when she saw the bondmates separating from a small kiss. Once they separated, Stormfire said, "Well darling, Pandimala is here for her checkup."

"Checkup? Are you alright?" Neuro asked.

Pandimala let out a light chuckle and said, "I'm quite fine. Actually, I am sparked and Balm ordered me to see her thirty solar cycles after my previous visit."

Neuro smiled and said, "Well, allow me to give my late congratulations. May I ask when the young sparkling is due?"

Pandimala nodded and said, "According to Balm here, I have three more human months before my little sparkling is going to meet us all."

Balm nodded before motioning to the empty berth and saying, "Yes, and actually, she is finding out today the gender of her sparkling. Pandimala, if you could lay here so we could get started."

Pandimala nodded and laid down, anticipation traveling through her systems. This was it; she was going to find out what her little bundle of joy's gender would be. As she waited for Balm to get the scanner, Pandimala felt an emotion of excitement come from the sparkling itself. Pandimala smiled as she glanced at the area of her chestplate that housed both her spark and her sparkling before sending a feeling of love to her child.

"You ok 'Mala?" Balm asked her.

Pandimala smiled and nodded before saying, "Of course I am. Now, let's see how my little sparkling is doing."

Balm smiled and nodded before turning on the scanner and scanning her spark, and her sparkling. When the scanner beeped, Balm took the scanner over to the monitor and plugged it in. As she typed, Pandimala stood up and stood next to Balm.

When the monitor beeped, Balm typed in a few things before saying, "Pandimala, you had better call Megatron, Ultra Magnus, and Alpha Trion."

"Why?" Pandimala asked in confusion.

Balm smiled and said, "Because even I have heard of their betting pool with your creators and Starscream and Megatron, Ultra Magnus, and Alpha Trion are about to collect fifty credits from the others." Balm then hugged Pandimala before saying, "Your little sparkling is a femme."

Pandimala smiled and sent a large wave of love to the sparkling, her little femme, before smiling at Balm and saying, "That also means that I get to name her." Pandimala then realized that she had to call Chaom so she activated her comm. link and said, "Chaom, are you there darling?"

It took a minute before Chaom said, "You caught me at a good time darling. We just went on break. What is it?"

"Well," Pandimala started, "I was just calling to tell you that we now only have three more human months before we get to see your daughter."

There was a pause on the other end of the line before she heard Chaom say, "So, you won dear? Well, be safe on your trip back sweetspark. Love you dear."

Pandimala smiled and said, "Love you too Chaom. See you when I get back." She then turned off the communicator.

Balm then stepped forward and said, "Well, since Stormfire here has to stay behind to help with the rebuild, I am going to be escorting you back 'Mala."

Neuro raised an optic ridge in confusion and asked, "Why would you need an escort? Don't take offence Balm but I don't think that Pandimala would need much protection."

Stormfire nodded and said, "It's understandable Neuro. But, I must ask that you not tell what we tell you to anybot else."

Neuro nodded in agreement and said, "Of course, I try not to spread rumor when I can."

Stormfire nodded and said, "Well, after Pandimala's last checkup, when she found out that she was sparked, she was flying to tell Chaom when she was attacked. The bots who attacked her called themselves the Virons and they made it known that they wished to offline Pandimala. Now, as far as we know, they do not know that Pandimala is sparked and we want to keep it that way for as long as possible. But, to be safe, we have been having an escort with her wherever she goes."

Pandimala nodded and said, "While I do not like it, I have to agree that it is the best thing for the safety of my sparkling."

Neuro nodded and said, "I see. Well, I wish you luck."

Pandimala smiled and said, "Thank you Neuro." She then turned to Balm and said, "You ready to go Balm?"

Balm nodded and said, "Of course. Let's get you back to Chaom before he has a spark attack from waiting."

Pandimala laughed before the two of them walked out of the room.

* * *

When Chaom hung up the comm. link, he smiled. He really hadn't cared much about what gender the sparkling would be but he was glad that he was going to have a little daughter. But, he was still worried about their safety. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before those Viron creeps would figure out that 'Mala was sparked.

"Chaom, are you ok?"

Chaom turned at Ultra Magnus' voice and watched as he, Megatron, Starscream, and Alpha Trion walked toward him.

Chaom nodded before saying, "Yeah, I just got a call from Pandimala. She was telling me that she had found out the gender of our sparkling and that both she and Balm are now heading here so we can celebrate."

Megatron smirked and said, "So, do I owe Starscream fifty credits or does he owe me?"

Chaom smiled and said, "Well, let's just say that your credit counts; yours, Ultra Magnus', and Alpha Trion's, just went up."

Megatron smirked and turned to Starscream before saying, "Told you Starscream. Always trust the carrier's instinct."

Starscream shook his helm and said, "I was hoping that the sire would have a better idea but I guess that I was wrong." He then took out the credits that he owed Megatron before saying, "Here you go." He then turned to Ultra Magnus and Alpha Trion before saying, "Pandemonium and Malice will get you mechs your payment."

Alpha Trion nodded before turning to Chaom. Chaom noticed that Alpha Trion seemed to study him for a click before saying, "What's wrong Chaom? You seem to be extremely worried about something."

Chaom let out a sigh. He figured it would be almost impossible to cover up his feelings from the mech who had trained Zarron, but he had to try. He hadn't wanted to worry them but now it looked like he was not going to have a choice.

"I'm a little worried about Pandimala. The last time she was on her way back from a checkup, she was attacked by those Viron monsters." Chaom answered with worry.

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "I understand Chaom. I would be understandably worried as well. But, she is with Balm this time and they will be able to call in for help when they need it."

Chaom nodded but said, "I know, but I am worried that Balm might not be enough to stop these mechs if they attack again. There were six of them and Pandimala had to flee because she couldn't fight them."

Chaom was surprised when Megatron and Starscream let out laughs. Ultra Magnus glanced at the two Decepticons with a raised optic ridge before asking, "Why are you two laughing at that?"

Megatron finally calmed down, though Starscream was still cackling like no other, and said, "If you think that then you haven't had the privilege of seeing a fragged off Balm."

"And how have you seen a 'fragged off Balm' as you put it?" Alpha Trion asked.

Megatron sighed and said, "This was before our alliance. When we had captured Balm for the second time, since our first time failed, a new team of 'Cons joined up with us; Team Chaar."

"I've heard of them. Most have been known as respectable bots in battle. But there was one," Ultra Magnus started.

"Spittor." Starscream said with a hiss, a hiss that Chaom noticed had a lot of anger.

"So, you had a problem with him?" Alpha Trion asked.

Megatron let out a snort before saying, "Saying that we had 'a problem' with Spittor is like saying that the war was just a couple of bots playing around."

"So something serious happened while Balm was in your brig." Ultra Magnus stated.

Starscream nodded before saying, "Yes, but we did try to prevent it." He then looked at Megatron and said, "Do you want to tell it?"

Megatron sighed and said, "I guess I can."

"We never did find out what happened during that time." Chaom said.

Megatron nodded before saying, "Well, when Team Chaar arrived, Malice was suspicious of Spittor after he first saw Balm. She gave Balm a signal box to alert either her or Pandemonium if Balm was afraid of being tortured. After the battle where Pandimala and Malice first saw each other after all of the stellar cycles of not seeing her, that alert was activated."

"So, he tortured her." Chaom assumed.

But, Chaom was surprised when Starscream shook his helm and said, "No, Malice and the twins, Rumble and Frenzy, arrived before that could happen. They stayed with Balm and watched a movie with her to help calm her down before coming to report to us. When we found out what Spittor tried to do, we were very upset."

Megatron nodded and said, "Yes, and the only reason that I did not take care of Spittor then was because we were about to leave for our planned fight against you bots and I couldn't have everybot else fragged off at Spittor and risk us losing the fight. That was my biggest mistake. None of us noticed that he had stayed behind when we left."

Chaom realized what had happened so he said, "Until Stormfire's outburst during the fight. He was screaming at you bots and I was surprised that he didn't offline Blackout. That mech was lucky."

Megatron again nodded before saying, "Yes, but the only one of us who figured it out was Malice. She realized that Stormfire was Balm's mate and realized that Spittor was missing so she grabbed her bondmate, who grabbed the twins, and the four of them went to the ship without telling the rest of us what they were doing. We found out from Malice when we got back that Spittor had tortured Balm."

"Is there a connection between this and a fragged of Balm? Because, excuse me for being blunt, but I figure that the femme would be in fear of all of you 'Cons after that." Alpha Trion asked.

Chaom could see that Alpha Trion hadn't meant any harm with his question and he turned to Megatron and was relieved to see that Megatron saw that too.

Megatron nodded and said, "There is a large connection. After we all got back from the fight, Malice told us what Spittor did and so I told Pandemonium to go and get him. I felt like strangling the mech when he was brought in. But, I was surprised when he stood up against me and asked me why I would want to end the war."

"He said that the only things that you Autobots had on us that was preventing the Decepticons from total victory as the Allspark and the space bridges. I then said that the ending of this war had only been jeopardized by his sadistic needs. I also said that you Autobots had more against us then the Allspark and the space bridges. He let out a snort of disbelief at that and asked what you could possibly have and said that Decepticons were superior to Autobots in every way." Starscream added.

"That's when we all heard a voice tell him that we couldn't beat you in team work." Megatron continued. "We looked to the back of the room and were surprised to see Balm, standing there and she did not look very happy. She then walked forward and said that we also obviously couldn't tell when an Autobot snuck into a top secret meeting. She then proceed to say that, while some of us 'Cons were learning to work in teams, he was still a mindless mech who used brute force. I could tell that she was hiding the pain from her wounds when he said that."

"Of course," Starscream started, "that was when Spittor decided to throw out that she seemed to have grown some confidence since his torture session with her. Malice didn't take too lightly to that comment and swiftly gave him an uppercut. Spittor then told Pandemonium to learn how to control Malice before Spittor lunged at them. All of us Decepticons made to intercept him and Malice and Pandemonium went to move out of the way, but that wasn't necessary."

"Why?" Ultra Magnus asked.

Megatron chuckled and said, "Well, we all suddenly heard a buzz saw and the next thing any of us know, Spittor yells out in pain and we all see a small gash on his chest plate and Balm is standing in front of Malice and Pandemonium in a protective stance with a saw mod replacing her right servo. None of us had even known that she had that. She had then said that if Spittor knew what was good for him, he would stay away."

He then paused and Starscream said, "Spittor asked where she got the mod and she said that she had it since she was created but she rarely used it unless a bot made her upset enough to pull it out and that was a feat because she had to deal with Sentinel Prime on a daily basis. What none of us were expecting, though, was that Spittor suddenly snarled at Balm and spat at her."

Megatron nodded and said, "Well, I ran at Balm then and threw both of us out of the target range. The other Decepticons then held him down and I banished him from the Decepticons and that, after he left Earth in the twelve cycle limit that I gave him, he was then declared an enemy to the Decepticons and he was to be killed on sight."

Chaom now felt better about Balm guarding Pandimala. If the medic femme was willing to risk being attacked by the Decepticons like that to testify against the mech that tortured her and even fight the mech who tortured her, then she would be able to protect 'Mala very well. He turned to Megatron and smiled before saying, "Thank you for that Megatron. I feel a lot better now."

Alpha Trion nodded before motioning to the council room and saying, "This next meeting should only take a few clicks since Chromia is giving the report. Plus, it is the last one of the solar cycle so we can go and meet Pandimala and Balm on their route."

The others then nodded before filing into the meeting room.

* * *

"Balm, thanks for walking back with me." Pandimala said as she and Balm made it to the suburb area of Praxus.

Balm smiled at her and said, "Don't worry 'Mala. Nothing is going to get to you without going through me."

Pandimala felt honored to have the friends that she had. While she knew that each had their own faults, she had seen that they had overcome many of them and 'Mala knew that she would never find a better group of friends if she tried.

"So 'Mala, do you know what you are going to be naming your sparkling yet?" Balm asked her.

Pandimala nodded but said, "I have a few names saved but I won't know which one I am going to pick until it is time for the sparkling to be born. I think that her coloring is going to play a major factor in my choosing."

Balm nodded and looked like she was about to say something when she froze. Pandimala looked at her with a weird look before asking, "Are you ok Balm?"

Balm looked like she was about to answer when a large blaster shot slammed into the medic femme and threw he into the wall of the building behind them and forced her through the wall.

Pandimala turned and stared in fear when she saw the six cloaked figures that she had seen before. The Virons were back and she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do about them. Balm, from what she could see, wasn't getting up anytime soon and she had no back up.

"Who are you?" Pandimala demanded of the bots.

The leader laughed and said, "We will tell you our designations if you can escape our test."

Pandimala was about to ask what kind of test this was when the bot on her far right suddenly struck out with a strange tongue and wrapped it around her so her arms were bound and she couldn't lower her shoulder cannons. As the bot pulled her closer to him, Pandimala felt the panic rise in her systems and she felt like she was trapped with nowhere to escape. But, she struggled on as she felt the fear from the sparkling course through her systems. She couldn't allow her sparkling to get hurt, she just couldn't.

The sound of a buzz saw was the only warning any of them got before said saw slashed through the tongue, cutting it in two. Pandimala then stared in relief when she saw Balm stand in front of her protectively with her saw replacing her right servo.

"Stay away from Pandimala if you know what is good for you." Balm threatened. Pandimala couldn't help but shiver at the tone of Balm's voice.

The leader seemed to have grown a thoughtful attitude because he said, "It seems as if we have underestimated Balm here."

Pandimala realized that she had escaped their trap so she demanded, "Tell me who you are."

The leader, to her surprise, nodded and said, "Very well. You would have found out anyways."

The bot on her far left then took off his cloak and revealed himself. Pandimala studied the blue and green mech now before her as the leader said, "This is Windbreaker."

The bot next to Windbreaker then took off his cloak at the same time as the bot next to him did. Both were mechs and the first was blue and yellow while the second one was red and gray. "These two are Thunderwave and Firefog."

The leader then took off his own cloak and Pandimala studied the black mech that was revealed. "I am Pitch." The leader, Pitch, said.

Motioning to the bot next to him, said bot took off their cloak and Pandimala was surprised by how burly the red and orange mech was. "And this is Burnsport." That was when it hit Pandimala. These were the bots that attacked Tana. She let out a low growl in response. She didn't want the bots to attack her too early before any possible back up could arrive.

The leader then motioned to the final bot, the one that had attacked her, before saying, "I really don't need to introduce this next bot because I know at least one of you femmes have had personal experience with this bot."

The two femmes then watched as the final bot took off his cloak. Pandimala was sort of disgusted with the mech underneath. He looked like he could transform into some kind of toad. Plus, she could see a malicious look in his optics that she did not like in the slightest. But, she did not recognize him.

Balm's snarl at the mech told her that her friend knew this bot and that wasn't a good thing. Glancing at Balm, Pandimala asked, "Who is he Balm?"

Balm continued to growl at the mech while saying, "That is Spittor."

As soon as she heard the mechs name, Pandimala let out her own growl. This was the disgusting bot that had tortured Balm while she was with the Decepticons.

"Now," Pitch started, turning her attention back to the leader, "we must offline the two of you so our goals can come to fruition."

"Remember, the medic is mine. I need to repay her for how she treated me the last time we met." Spittor said.

Pandimala growled and was about to say something when Firefog said, "And don't forget about the sparkling. We must make sure that it does not live."

All aggression then left Pandimala and she took a few defensive paces back. She was in shock. How had they known? But, no matter what questions she asked herself as the bots prepared to attack, she knew one thing;

They knew about her sparkling and were planning on killing it.

* * *

**Balm: Oh, we are so fragged.**

**Pandimala: Definitely.**

**Authoress: I guess we will find out, won't we?**

* * *

**AN: MUHAHAHAH! The Virons are back and are trying to kill the sparkling! Let's see how Pandimala and Balm get out of this one, if they do. *evil laugh* I will try to get this updated as soon as I can. Until then though, please read and review. But no flames. **


	8. Where There's a Will

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: How the frag did they know that I am carrying?**

**Authoress: Don't look at me, I hate them just as much as you do.**

**Balm: Ok then, why did you create them?**

**Authoress: *sighs* Because every good guy needs a bad guy they fight to keep the balance.**

* * *

Ch. 8: Where There's a Will

Chaom couldn't have been any happier when Chromia finished her report and the council officially ended their last meeting for the solar cycle. It wasn't that her report had been boring, like Dragstrip's always were, but he was worried about Pandimala. Just a click earlier, he had felt a small amount of fear come from Pandimala's side of the bond. He had sent a questioning pulse to her and he had yet to get a response back.

He stood up and made his way out of the room and towards the communications area.

"Chaom, wait up." Ultra Magnus called out.

Chaom turned his helm around to see Ultra Magnus, Megatron, Starscream, and Alpha Trion running up to catch up to him. Chaom slowed down but refused to stop. He was not going to waste a single nano-click. Not this time.

"What is wrong Chaom?" Starscream asked as he walked next to the triple changer.

""Mala sent me a small wave of fear and when I sent a questioning pulse back, she didn't respond and she still hasn't."

"Do you think she has been attacked again?" Alpha Trion asked with worry.

"I hope she hasn't but I want to call Stormfire and ask him if he has heard anything from Balm."

Megatorn nodded and said, "Good thinking Chaom. This way we can make sure before going to Praxus."

Chaom nodded and the group of them continued in silence. As they walked toward the comm. center, Chaom couldn't help but worry. It wasn't like Pandimala to leave him to worry.

As they arrived in front of the comm. room doors, Chaom was confused when he heard the sound of arguing coming from the other side. This couldn't be good. Glancing at Alpha Trion, he asked, "Would you care to go in first since this is your area of expertise?"

Alpha Trion sighed and nodded before walking into the room. Once he was inside, Chaom saw that there were bots running all over the place and they were acting like they were going to offline that nano-click if they didn't do whatever it was that they needed to do.

"WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?" Alpha Trion yelled, causing everyone in the room to freeze and stare at them.

A small car mech who was colored mainly gray with white markings ran up and said, "That Dragon Scouter, Stormfire, was demanding that we go and interrupt the council meeting."

"Did he say why?" Alpha Trion questioned.

"All he said was that it was extremely important that Chaom get down here." The mech responded.

"And you didn't do as he said why?" Megatron asked in an incredulous tone.

The mech must have realized who had all followed Alpha Trion because he said, "Well, um, sir, we were told not to disturb the meetings unless it was a matter of high urgency."

Ultra Magnus let out a sigh before saying, "If a Scouter is calling Chaom or Pandimala during a meeting, it is of high urgency."

Chaom was glad that the bot at least looked sorry for delaying them but since the bot was not talking, Chaom asked, "Is Stormfire still on the line?"

The bot nodded and said, "Yeah, he refused to get off until he talked to you."

Chaom nodded and stepped forward before saying, "Patch Stormfire through."

The bots in the room nodded before typing away. A few nano-clicks later, Chaom became concerned when a fragged off looking Stormfire came onto the screen and said, "Chaom, where have you been? I've been trying to contact you for ten clicks!" He then shook his helm and said, "No matter. There's trouble."

"With Pandimala?" Chaom asked, though judging by Stormfire's reaction to the name, that answer was probably yes.

With a heavy spark, Chaom watched as Stormfire nodded and said, "I felt a wave of pain and panic come through Balm's side of our bond and I contacted her right away and asked what was going on. All she got out was that those Virons were attacking them before the line fizzled. I knew you would need down here quickly so I have the teleport system that we set up here up and operational for you and whoever you are bringing. But hurry, I don't know how much time we have."

"We are all going." Megatron stated, motioning to himself and the three bots standing next to him.

Chaom nodded and looked at the bots in the room before saying, "Once we leave, contact Guardian headquarters immediately. Tell them to teleport to Praxus immediately and be prepared to hunt the Virons. They will know what that means."

The bots in the room nodded and Chaom turned to the screen before saying, "Stormfire, teleport for five to your location."

Stormfire nodded before walking off screen. A few clicks later, Chaom found himself standing in front of Stormfire.

Running up to said bot, Chaom asked, "When was the last time that you had contact with them?"

Stormfire sighed and said, "Ten clicks ago. I called for you immediately after I lost contact with Balm."

Chaom nodded before saying, "We can't wait for the Guardians. We need to split up. If you find one of them, fire three shots into the air. If you find both of them, fire six. We will all then converge on that bot's location."

They all nodded before running out of the room. As he ran out of the doors to the outside, Chaom knew that he just had to get there in time. If he didn't, he would never forgive himself.

* * *

Pandimala was in a panic as she and Balm ran around another street corner. After the Virons had made it known that they both knew about her sparkling and that they wanted to offline both her and her sparkling, Pandimala was not going to take any chances with them actually being able to hurt her sparkling. So, she had tried a trick that Blitzwing had taught her. She fired ice out of one cannon and fire out of the other and made them collide so they created a mist. She had then grabbed Balm's servo before both femmes made a dash back toward the main part of Praxus.

What Pandimala had not noticed was just how far that they had already traveled from the temporary med area. Pandimala knew that they were now lost but she didn't care, as long as the three of them were far away from those Virons.

"Pandimala, do you know if they are still behind us?" Balm asked.

Even though she couldn't see them, Pandimala knew from the last time they had found her that they probably were so she said, "They most likely are. We need to get to a populated area and avoid alley ways at all costs. That was one of the ways they trapped me last time."

Balm nodded and made a turn around a corner before asking, "How do you think that they even found out about your sparkling? We were all careful about who we told."

Pandimala sighed. She had a suspicion but she couldn't go accusing the bots without actual proof so she said, "I don't know Balm, I just don't know."

They then turned another corner and Pandimala screeched to a halt. Balm glanced back at her in shock before asking, "Why are you stopping 'Mala?"

Pandimala turned around in a panic before saying, "We've been here before. I know because I recognize this set of buildings. They are corralling us. We need to get a message to someone that we are here. A signal maybe."

Balm shook her helm and said, "But Pandimala, if we send up a signal, then the Virons will find out where we are as well."

Pandimala let out a low growl before saying, "Balm, they probably already know where we are. At least this way, we might get some help before something bad happens."

Balm seemed to think about it for a click before saying, "Fine, but what are we going to be able to use as a signal to get their attention?"

Pandimala thought about that before asking, "You still carry those two sealed cubes of energon?"

Balm nodded and pulled out said cubes before saying, "Yeah." The idea then seemed to hit her because she suddenly looked at them before reluctantly saying, "Fine, we can blow them up. And I was so looking forward to drinking them."

Pandimala let off a quick smile before saying, "I'm going to launch them about thirty clicks apart. Once each one gets level, shoot them."

Balm nodded and handed the cubes to Pandimala before taking out her blaster. Pandimala then preformed a spin with the first cube before launching it with all of her might into the air. Both femmes then watched the cube and waited until it got to its height before Balm shot at it, causing a massive explosion that could probably be seen from Iacon itself.

"Yes, now, ready for the next one?" Pandimala asked.

Balm nodded and readied her shot before Pandimala again turned and launched the second cube. Once the cube got to its pinnacle, Balm fired and both femmes cheered when it blew up.

"Too bad you femmes had to do that." Pitch's voice said from behind them.

Both femmes turned and saw that the six Virons were now standing in front of them. Pandimala snarled at Pitch before asking, "And why is that Pitch?"

Pitch laughed and said, "Because we were actually planning on letting you live long enough for you to see your bondmates one last time. But, now we have to offline you quickly before they arrive."

Pandimala stared with wide optics at Pitch as the implication of his words hit her. She wasn't going to escape. She was doomed. But, she was not going to go down without giving all that she had to protect her sparkling so she took out her swords and said to Balm, "It was an honor knowing you Balm."

But, Balm's response was not the one that she thought that she would hear. "Don't plan the funeral yet Pandimala, look!" Balm pointed into the air as she said this.

Pandimala glanced up as well and was over-joyed to see Megatron in his helicopter mode, hovering above them. Pandimala couldn't believe that the signal actually worked.

Megatron finally transformed and landed in-between the two of them before saying, "Saw your signal. The others are on their way." He then turned to the Virons and let out a growl before saying, "Spittor, you will not get away with this. You will now end up on every single faction's bounty list now."

Spittor laughed and said, "You don't scare me anymore Megatron. Us Virons will make you all rue the day that you ended the war."

"Well then, let me show you what fear is." A very familiar voice said from behind Spittor.

Pandimala felt her spark lighten in relief and her sparkling's feeling of joy when she heard Chaom say that and when he suddenly blindsided Spittor into Burnsport. He then ran up to Pandimala before saying, "Are you ok sweetspark?"

Pandimala nodded and said, "Yes."

She then turned to the Virons as they stood up before Pitch growled and said, "It seems as if our plans have been spoiled yet again."

Pandimala then turned as Ultra Magnus, Alpha Trion, Starscream, and Stormfire came up behind them. But, her attention didn't stay on them for long as Pitch continued. "We will be back, Pandimala. And we will keep coming back until we succeed in our goals. Neither you nor anybot else will ever be able to put us down."

Pandimala growled and was about to say something when Burnsport stepped forward, "But, we must now take our leave. While we could take on you bots with ease, we do not want to tangle with fourteen of you, especially the six that are on their way."

Pandimala raised an optic ridge in confusion at that as the six bots transformed and drove off. Well, that was, until, the Guardians showed up and Hinge transformed before asking, "Which way did they go?"

Pandimala pointed in the direction that the Virons just fled and Hinge nodded before transforming back into vehicle mode and leading the Guardians in a chase to catch them. When the disappeared from sight, Pandimala couldn't hold in her fear and she sat down to the ground before grabbing her knee joints and pulling them into her chassis.

"Pandimala, what's wrong?" Chaom asked in worry as he knelt down next to her.

Pandimala took a click to get herself calm enough to say, "They knew Chaom."

"They knew what Pandimala?" Megatron asked.

"They knew that I was sparked." Pandimala answered bluntly. She was terrified now. It had been different when they hadn't known and she could play out her bluffs. But now, now they knew and that meant she could be putting her sparkling in danger.

Everybot around her who didn't already know gasped at the information. She knew that they too knew what them knowing meant. This would be a very trying three months for Pandimala and she knew it.

Chaom then helped her back onto her pedes before saying, "Pandimala, I know that we can't use the teleport with you because we don't know how it will affect the sparkling, but I want you to have a flyer with you at all times and you are to fly everywhere you go. But, that will only be for emergencies only. Balm, if you wouldn't mind coming to our house from now on to give the check-ups, I believe that would limit their access to 'Mala greatly."

Pandimala sighed at this. She didn't like that she would now have to be so confined, but she knew that this had to be done for both her future safety and that of her sparkling's.

"Pandimala, are you ready to go home?" Chaom asked her softly.

Pandimala nodded and hugged Chaom before saying, "Can we fly dear? I want to feel the wind on my wings."

Chaom smiled and gave her a loving kiss on the cheek before saying, "Of course darling."

Pandimala smiled and transformed. The other flyers with them, besides Stormfire because he would be staying in Praxus with Balm, transformed as well before they all flew off.

* * *

Tana growled as she tore around a corner. Those Virons were going to pay. They dared threaten her friend and her friend's sparking. Plus, she was doubly upset that five of them were the bots that had attacked her recently and were enemies of the Guardians. Plus, the sixth Viron had been the bot who had tortured Balm. Tana was going to make him pay dearly for that.

"Tana, watch those turns. We can't have you crashing and us losing the trail." Hinge said. Tana could hear the anger that Hinge had at the Virons in his voice as he said that.

"I know Hinge, but I don't want to lose them. Not again. It is one thing for them to come after one of us, but to go after Pandimala, when they know that she is sparked, is going too far, even for them." Tana growled.

"I agree with Tana. Those fragging Virons have overstepped their bounds. How could they even think about killing a sparkling before it is even born?" Hindsight stated.

Chem sighed and said, "It is very tactile on their part. They have figured out that 'Mala is the main driving force of this alliance and if she were to perish, then this alliance would be put to the test and it would probably not survive given how new it is. Plus, with her being sparked, they would cause all of us extremely more pain and grief which would hinder our ability to fight them off. Don't get me wrong though, I want to see their helms on pikes for this and watch them slowly melt in the smelting pit for this."

Tana shivered at the last part. Chem usually was a very conservative mech who wouldn't say anything that sounded too personal or full of emotion but, when he did, he made it so the bots around wouldn't forget that he said it.

After a few clicks, Blackbit growled and they all slammed on their brakes before transforming. Blackbit then growled, "Frag it! We lost the signal. We will get them next time. Can't believe that we lost them."

Foresight nodded and said, "I know, but we can't help it. They are pretty good at manipulating the shadows for their needs."

Tana sighed. She hated not knowing where those creeps were. It made her chassis feel all wrong. Of course, the last time she hadn't known where they were, she ended up with a dagger in her back and was in the med center for solar cycles. She would not make that same mistake twice. "Well, we had better head back to Iacon. We need to get some more training in before we take them on again."

Chem nodded and said, "Tana is right. Plus, Shrike and Alphego will be wondering where we are and we are going to have to give some excuse because I don't think that Pandimala is going to want us telling them about this attack."

Blackbit smiled and said, "Maybe we can get Shrike to actually go on the defense when she should."

Hinge smirked and said, "Yes, and maybe we can get Alphego to create more than one clone at a time. That would help him greatly if he were ever in a battle situation."

Tana then transformed and asked, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get down there and give them a servo." The six Guardians then made their way back to Iacon.

* * *

Sari felt like she was going to explode from anticipation. Today was the day when she would finally be able to begin her training. Even though Bumblebee and the others had been helping, she knew that she would need more help with learning the other stuff. Optimus had asked Pandimala if the Guardians could train her but Pandimala had immediately said that was a bad idea because they are extremely tough on the bots they train and Sari was still getting used to her new body.

And that was how she found herself on her way to the ninja dojo. She had been there a few times to visit Prowl but this would be the first time that she would go there to learn. It was actually really exciting. She knew that it might be difficult but she knew that she needed to know this.

When she arrived in front of the dojo, she took a deep intake before letting it out and walking inside. Once she was inside, she followed Prowl's instructions until she ended up in a training room. Inside, she saw Jazz, Prowl, and Springer standing there waiting.

"Glad you could join us Sari." Jazz greeted.

Sari smiled and said, "Sorry, I got stuck in traffic." She then asked, "So, what are we doing today?"

"Well, we are going to teach you the basics for now." Prowl stated.

Sari nodded and said, "Ok."

Springer nodded before taking out one of his swords and saying, "You have a blade?"

Sari nodded before activating her energon blades that attached to her arms. "Yep." She responded.

Springer nodded before saying, "Well, let's get started. Do you mind if we have a small match right now?"

Sari was a little nervous since the bots before her had years of training but she nodded and got ready. Spring nodded before swinging his blade at her. Sari instinctively brought up her right blade and blocked it to the side since she knew that she would not be able to hold the swing.

"Very good. You knew that I would have beaten you if you would have tried to hold the block." Springer said before taking another swing at her, this time from the side. Sari put both of her blades to her side and tried to block it. But, she didn't realize how off balance she was and, when his blade struck, she went skidding to the floor.

"Oh, what happened?" Sari said, massaging her plating.

Springer smirked and held out a servo to help her up before saying, "You blocked it pretty good but you forgot to stay balanced and you couldn't support the block."

Sari smiled and said, "Thanks."

Jazz then stepped forward and asked, "Sari, can you transform yet?"

Sari realized then that she hadn't transformed before she said, "No, I haven't tried yet."

Jazz's smile got larger before he said, "Well, now's as good of time as any to learn. Just think of shifting and you will."

Sari nodded and concentrated on changing before she suddenly felt herself going closer to the ground. Once she finished transforming into her alt mode, she transformed back and said, "I did it!"

Prowl nodded and said, "Good job Sari. Now, let's get to your other training."

* * *

**Chaom: Authoress, you are really pushing us with these situations. **

**Authoress: I know, but they are what make the story progress.**

**Megatron: So, was this the bad thing that we were leading up to?**

**Authoress: Well, the one for now. You all should know that there is always room for more scary and sad parts.**

***all bots shiver***

* * *

**AN: Here you go folks! Hope this was a good chapter. I have so much planned for this story and I can't wait to get to it! But, until then though, please read and review! But no flames please.**


	9. Justice For All

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Authoress is really getting these chapters done. Wonder what is going to happen this chapter?**

**Chaom: Pandimala, please tell me you did not just ask that while the Authoress is right here?**

**Pandimala: Oh frag.**

**Authoress: *chuckles darkly and walks away***

* * *

Ch. 9: Justice For All

Pitch growled as he drove. He couldn't believe that they had yet again underestimated the Dragon Scouters and it had cost them. He had thought that the medic femme would be easy to disable so they could defeat Pandimala. But that had not been the case. She had actually been the deciding factor. If Balm had just stayed down, then Spittor would have been able to deliver his exploding slime into Pandimala's spark chamber, killing both her and the sparkling that was inside of her. But, that femme had to get in the way.

And now, now they were on the run from the Guardians yet again. He hated the Guardians with a passion and wanted to fight them but he knew that their numbers had yet to grow to the numbers that they needed to be to challenge the Guardians' might as well as the Autobots, Decepticons, and Dragon Scouters.

After a few clicks of driving, Pitch did a scan of the area around them and he was relieved that they had lost the Guardians, for now. But he knew that they would now be out for their sparks and he knew that when the Guardians were determined to do something, they usually accomplished it.

When they arrived at the factory that was their temporary base, they all transformed before quickly entering. Once they were safely inside, Windbreaker said, "That femme has to have the most luck that I have ever seen."

Pitch nodded and said, "I know, but her luck will run out."

"And when will that be? From what I can see, her luck is going strong." Spittor questioned.

Pitch sighed and said, "I believe that we must wait until a better time to strike."

"Oh, and when will that be?" Windbreaker asked.

"Once she has given birth to the sparkling." Sentinel said as he walked inside.

"Sentinel, what took you so long?" Thunderwave asked.

"Traffic was bad so I had to take the long way around or I would have looked suspicious to some bots." Sentinel answered.

"Why should we wait until the sparkling is born?" Firefog questioned.

"Because, everybot is going to be much more defensive against any bot who tries to hurt Pandimala right now because she is carrying, but, when she is finished carrying, the security will gently decrease until it is the same as when you first attacked her." Sentinel explained.

Pitch nodded and said, "Yes, that makes sense. Plus, if we wait, we can increase our numbers some more and we will soon be able to launch a full assault on the alliance. If we get Pandimala out of the way at the same time, it will make our goals that much easier to accomplish."

Burnsport nodded but added, "Of course, we will have to get rid of her sparkling too. Otherwise, the bots of the alliance might still find hope with the small creation that Pandimala would leave behind."

Pitch nodded before saying, "That is also true. Now, let us see what bots we could possibly recruit while we are waiting."

* * *

Ultra Magnus felt worried. It seemed as if every time Pandimala got some happy news, those pit forsaken Virons would always be there. Ever since he had found Pandimala, he had felt like an adoptive sire to her. Even though she had now made amends with her actual sire, those feelings had not changed. He felt like he was failing in his duties every time she would be attacked. The only relief that he could feel was that neither her nor the sparkling that she carried had been hurt as far as he knew. Of course, Pandimala was now getting checked over by Ratchet and Razor to make sure.

Ultra Magnus smiled as he thought about the sparkling. He hadn't realized how fast time had flown by. One nano-click, he was going to visit a little Pandimala at Joint's place and now, that same little femme was expecting a little femme of her own. He hoped that the little femme would get as many of her carrier's personality traits as she could.

Of course, her sire was just as wonderful as her carrier. Even though Ultra Magnus had only known Chaom since his rediscovery of Pandimala on Earth, he had found that he respected the mech greatly and was glad that Chaom had found his Pandimala. Chaom seemed to have his helm screwed on straight when it came to what was important in life and he seemed to truly care about Pandimala.

Plus, he had also had a private meeting with Chaom not long after they had met. Chaom had said that Pandimala told him that she looked up to him as a father figure and Chaom had wanted to come and 'meet the family'. Ultra Magnus had tried to play the rough and tough sire who didn't want to give up his creation to anybot, but Chaom was just too good of a mech to do that with. So the two of them had ended up talking about how they both had met Pandimala and all the trouble that she had gotten both them and herself into.

A knock at his office door caused Ultra Magnus to pull himself out of his thoughts before he said, "Come in."

The door soon opened and Ultra Magnus was surprised to see Megatron. Standing up, Ultra Magnus held out a servo and said, "Megatron, this is a surprise."

Megatron took the servo and shook it before both leaders sat back down. Megatron then said, "Sorry for not calling in Ultra Magnus but with all that has happened with 'Mala, my processor just hasn't been thinking straight."

Ultra Magnus smiled and shook his helm and said, "That's fine. I understand. Pandimala, while a femme who has brought us all such joy with helping with this alliance, has also caused us all to have a great deal amount of worry."

Megatron nodded and said, "Yes, but she has always been like that. Well, at least when she was a sparkling. She would always be getting into some sort of trouble. Once, she crawled through the ventilation system that runs through Kaon and ended up in some bar. Luckily, the bar folk knew her and watched her until Malice found her. But, then she would go around and stop a fight by just being there and smiling."

Ultra Magnus let out a laugh and said, "That sounds just like her. When she was in boot camp, she was known for two things; helping bots and getting hurt by malfunctioning equipment. She would always bail bots out of trouble even when it would put her in greater danger then they were in. On the flip side though, whenever she seemed to be around, the machines would always go haywire and start firing real rounds."

"Really? Did it happen any other time?" Megatron asked with curiosity.

Ultra Magnus shook his helm and chuckled before saying, "No. We would all always be on guard whenever Pandimala would come to the field to practice. And of course, when she would get seriously hurt, it was usually Balm who worked on her. Well, either her or Ratchet."

Megatron shook his helm and said, "I'm surprised that femme hasn't offlined herself yet. She really is a trouble magnet."

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "But, she definitely makes up for it in talent." He was about to say more when his communicator went off. He glanced at Megatron and asked, "Would you mind if I take this now?"

"Who is it?" Megatron asked.

"It's Starscream." Ultra Magnus said.

Megatron raised an optic ridge but nodded. Ultra Magnus nodded before punching in the correct access code. A few clicks later, Starscream appeared on the screen.

"Starscream, this is a surprise. What are you calling for?" Ultra Magnus asked.

Starscream smirked and said, "Well, I need to take you up on an offer you made me a while ago."

"What is that Starscream?" Megatron asked, now standing next to Ultra Magnus.

"Megatron, didn't see you there. Well, I already have Hindsight, Foresight, Frenzy, and Rumble and now I just need Jetfire and Jetstorm." Starscream stated with a smirk.

It took Ultra Magnus a click to figure out what Starscream was asking. But, once he did figure it out, he smirked and said, "Of course, I'll send Jetfire and Jetstorm to you immediately so you can help them with their skills." Ultra Magnus knew what the seven bots would be doing but he had to make it look like both he and Megatron were totally oblivious to what was about to happen.

Luckily, Starscream caught on to his thinking and said, "The sooner they can get to the rec room here in Fortress Maximus the better."

"Oh, so you are here already? Then I will send them there." Ultra Magnus stated before saying, "Good luck Starscream."

Starscream nodded and smirked before turning off the communications.

* * *

When the screen went black, Starscream turned to the two sets of twins he already had for his use and said, "Ok, Jetfire and Jetstorm are on their way. I hope you all brought your thinking caps."

"Why are we even here Starscream?" Hindsight asked.

Frenzy nodded and added, "Yeah, you only told us that we would enjoy ourselves. But I'm not enjoying myself yet."

Starscream huffed and said, "Well, I'll tell you what we are doing once Jetfire and Jetstorm get here."

Just then, the doors to the rec. room opened and the two said twins ran in.

"Sorry we are late. Sentinel Prime gave us a long talk. So, what are we doing?" Jetfire answered and then asked.

Starscream smirked and drew them in closer before saying, "Well, from my sources, I have heard that you bots are the best at what you do. Something you all have in common."

"What's that?" Rumble asked.

Starscream's smirk grew wider as he said, "From what I have heard, you six have a special gift for preforming the best kinds of pranks."

All six twins smiled and Foresight said, "Well, your sources were right. Why do you need those skills though?"

"Well, you all know that Chaom and Pandimala have been getting terrible recharge because of all the work they have been doing. Well, Chaom, who has been going recently, was sleeping during the break when Dragstrip both loudly and rudely woke him up just to announce that there was still ten more clicks left of the break." Starscream answered.

Hindsight growled and said, "That no good bot."

Jetstorm smiled and asked, "Well, that's why we are pranking him I think?"

Starscream nodded and said, "Exactly, and we have to make it something that they will never forget."

"So," Rumble started. "What can we do?"

The bots gathered then started to think. After a click, Frenzy said, "Well, we could pour tar and metal shavings all over him."

Starscream thought it was a good idea. But, he must have been the only one to think that because Rumble said, "Nah, that's too common bro. We need something out of the box."

"Hmm, I think I might have something." Foresight suddenly said.

"What is it?" Starscream asked. He had heard numerous tales from Pandimala and the other Dragon Scouters, as well as some Autobots, about the pranking legend base that both Hindsight and Foresight had created. They were pros at pranking and, from what he heard, rarely repeated the same prank twice. One that he had heard about was when they were on Earth and had set up a hall-way full of trip wires that would cause instant cement to fall on the victims.

Hindsight smirked and said, "Oh, that is very clever brother. I don't think that they will be forgetting that anytime soon no matter how hard that they try."

Foresight smirked and said, "That is the point Hindsight." He then said, "Now, let me tell you all what I have planned."

The seven bots then gathered around Foresight. Once he finished explaining the basics of it, Starscream smirked and said, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get set up."

* * *

Pandimala was excited when Chaom said that she could come with him to the meetings with him today. She hadn't been to a meeting in so long that she felt like she was failing in her responsibility as leader of the Dragon Scouters. This possibly could have been the best thing that could have happened to her.

When her and Chaom entered Fortress Maximus, she was happy that she was around so many other bots, instead of on berth rest like she had been. It felt like she was almost normal again.

"Pandimala, good to see you back here." Beam waved as she walked by.

"Good to be back Beam." Pandimala called back.

Chaom let out a chuckle and put an arm around her shoulders before saying, "You really missed being at these meetings?"

Pandimala smiled and shook her helm before saying, "No, I definitely did not miss those Primus awful meetings. I missed seeing other bots and feeling the fresh air."

Chaom placed a small kiss on the top of her helm and said, "I know dear. Trust me; sitting through them has not been easy."

Pandimala raised an optic ridge and smirked before saying, "That's not what I heard. Ultra Magnus and Megatron told me that you were in recharge most of the time." He was about to say something when she placed a silencing kiss on his lips before saying with a smile, "And I understand completely."

Chaom smiled at her and the two of them continued their trek to the council room. When they got inside, Pandimala was happy to see the friendly familiar faceplates.

"Pandimala, we missed you femme." Knockout stated with a smirk as he walked up. "Chaom doesn't create as much havoc as you do."

Pandimala smiled and hugged her bondmate's arm before saying, "Well, I told him to behave until I got back."

Breakdown smirked and said, "We figured as much. Though, I guess he was rebelling when he slept through almost every single one of Dragstrip's lectures."

Pandimala let out an exaggerated yawn before saying, "So, is someone else up to talk first or am I getting a talk to have some fun?" She was so going to give Dragstrip a hard time since she was now back. Chaom had told her how he would wake him up ten minutes before in a rude way and she was going to avenge her bondmate. But, she still had to think about how she was going to accomplish that.

"If you could all take your seats, we can begin." Dragstrip stated.

Pandimala smirked and said, "Well, that answers my question. See you during break mechs."

Knockout and Breakdown nodded before heading to their seats. Pandimala then took Chaom's servo before the two of them took their seats, which were in-between Megatron and Starscream, Megatron next to her and Starscream next to Chaom.

Once everybot was seated, Dragstrip stood up and took the mallet in his servo before saying, "Let's start this meeting." He then slammed down the mallet.

Pandimala let out a soft chuckle when they all watched Dragstrip's paintjob change to neon pink and baby blue. Of course, Chaom wasn't as subtle and roared in laughter before falling out of his seat, along with almost every other bot in the room.

Dragstrip looked at himself and growled before saying, "This is not tolerable." He then slammed the mallet again, hoping that it would change his color back when it did something completely different. Glue fell from above him and drenched him before glitter fell and covered him, only allowing part of the coloring to show up.

Pandimala couldn't hold it back and roared in laughter. Of course, Dragstrip tried to slam the mallet down one more time and that was when the best thing happened. The human song, 'It's a Small World', blared through the speakers and a spotlight hit Dragstrip, causing the glitter to make him look like he was sparkling.

She was almost positive that she knew who the culprits were. "The twins?" She asked Chaom.

He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I have no idea." But, over the bond, he said, **Of course it was three sets of them. Hindsight and Foresight, Jetfire and Jetstorm, and Rumble and Frenzy all took part in it with Starscream as their conductor.**

Pandimala couldn't help but smirk and watch as Dragstrip fumed. There really was justice in this world.

* * *

**Starscream: Oh, that was hilarious! That mech Dragstrip looked so ridiculous! *rolls around on floor laughing***

**Chaom: No kidding, I guess there really is such a thing as karma. **

**Megatron: Yep, and we have Authoress to thank.**

**Authoress: You are all welcome. Can't wait for next chapter though.**

**Balm: What happens next chapter?**

**Authoress: *whistles and walks away***

**Pandimala: Why do I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen again?**

* * *

**AN: And that is the next chapter. Frag, I am really getting these out there. Well, hope you all like the new installment. The next chapter is going to be a very, very, very exciting one that you don't want to miss! Until then though, please read and review. But no flames.**


	10. And Then There Were Three

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Ok, anyone seen Authoress?**

**Chaom: No, why?**

**Balm: Because we are trying to find out what is going to happen and we haven't been able to find her.**

**Stormfire: How long have you been looking?**

**Hinge: Five cycles.**

***hidden away***

**Authoress: I will not ruin the surprise. No matter what.**

* * *

Ch. 10: And Then There Were Three

_Three Months Later _

Malice smiled as she lounged in her old living room. It still felt odd to be back on Cybertron. When she had been forced to leave Cybertron with her bondmate because of their allegiance to the Decepticon cause, she had felt like all hope had been lost. Her feelings during that time were not helped when her only creation at the time, Pandimala, ran away because she wanted to be an Autobot. It had almost crushed her spark when Pandemonium had returned back home and told her that the Autobot commander himself had blocked him from re-obtaining Pandimala and she had been very depressed when she had to watch as her planet got farther and farther from view.

But, her attitude toward life had brightened up somewhat when she found out that she was sparked with Anarcum. But, even after he was brought into the world, she had always felt an empty place inside where she was yearning for her lost sparkling, Pandimala. When their spies on Cybertron would report in, she would always ask how Pandimala was doing. They would give her updates and Malice would always feel proud that her daughter was moving up in the ranks.

But, her attitude toward the world around her had darkened yet again when the spies that they had on Cybertron said that, after their last check in, that they could no longer find any trace of Pandimala in the Autobot systems and they had not been able to locate her on Cybertron. Malice had feared the worse.

When she had arrived on Earth and Anarcum had disappeared, she felt like she would go insane. Both of her sparklings, vanished. But, she then saw Anarcum in battle with, what she now knew as, the Dragon Scouter insignia and was a little saddened that he wore it but was glad that he was still online. When she had seen the jet fly above them all and it get shot down, she had not thought anything of it. That was, until, it ended up being Pandimala. Finally, at long last, she was reunited with her sparkling.

And from then on, life for malice had been wonderful. Now, Pandimala was expecting her first sparkling and, if the doctors were right, the sparkling could be born at any click now. They just had to wait for the little sparkling to decide to come.

"Malice, you are zoning out again." Pandemonium stated as he wrapped his arms around his bondmate's shoulders.

Malice smiled and turned around to face him before saying, "I know. I was just thinking about Pandimala. She is going to be having our grand creation any solar cycle now."

Pandemonium smirked and said, "Well, if you are that desperate for another sparkling, I could see what I could arrange."

Malice shook her helm in the negative before saying, "No. I think that we have gone through enough stress with our two creations without adding a third in there. Plus, we are going to be spending too much time with our granddaughter to be worrying about another sparkling of our own."

Pandemonium sighed and said, "I guess that you are right dear. We had better dote on that little femme like no other."

Malice nodded and leaned against Pandemonium's side. She couldn't wait until Pandimala had her sparkling. It made her feel like she was going to be having the sparkling herself and she was anxious. The sparkling was hopefully coming soon.

* * *

"Balm, do you have the energon reserves yet?" Balm heard Ratchet ask her over her comm. link.

Sighing, she answered, "Yes, and I'm on my way back now. Be patient."

"Femme, we don't have time to be patient. Your friend could have her sparkling at any click and we have to have everything ready for her." She heard Razor add.

"Fine, I'll hurry up. I'm only a few clicks away from the med bay now." Balm said before shutting off the link and continuing to walk. Pandimala had wanted all three medics there with her to help her bring her sparkling into the world because they had all impacted her life. Razor had brought her into the world, Ratchet had saved her when she had been shot on that first day of boot camp, and Balm had been her dear friend throughout the stellar cycles and had helped heal her on numerous occasions.

Balm, on her part, was excited for this. She had only helped a sparkling come into the world once and she had barely assisted. Now, she was going to be a major contributor to the sparklings birth.

Finally arriving at the med bay doors with the energon cubes that Ratchet had asked her to get, she walked inside to see Razor and Ratchet working hard on prepping the area, making sure that everything was set up correctly.

"Balm, put those cubes on the table over there." Razor said while pointing to one of the tables.

Balm nodded and set the cubes down before saying, "Well, that about covers everything that we need."

Razor nodded and said, "Hopefully, Pandimala takes giving birth better then Malice did her first time around."

Ratchet raised an optic ridge at that and asked, "Why? What happened?"

Razor smirked and said, "Well, you both know that there is always a bot there to hold the sparked bots servo while the sparkling is detaching from their spark. Malice squeezed the poor mech's servo so hard that the servo popped off and another bot had to take over while he went to go and get it fixed. Then, she almost popped the second bots servo off. But, luckily for that bot, Pandimala's spark finally managed to detach all the way by then."

Balm chuckled and said, "Well, for my safety, I am not going to be the one to hold Pandimala's servo. I know what her strength is and I don't want my servos getting damaged again."

Ratchet nodded and said, "Well, let's just hope that this goes by smoothly."

Razor nodded and said, "Yes, especially with her track record of getting into trouble." Razor immediately let out a yelp when Balm helm slapped him. "What was that for?"

Balm shook her helm and said, "We don't need you adding any jinxes to this."

Razor let out a chuckle before saying, "Oops. Sorry."

Balm just shook her helm and said, "Well, let's hope that everything goes smoothly."

The two mechs nodded and the three medics waited for the moment of truth.

* * *

Pandimala felt like she was going to burst with anticipation. It would happen any click now. She was going to be a carrier. This was so exciting for her. She and Chaom had always dreamed of starting a family of their own and now they were finally going to be able to. It was very exciting. Plus, she could feel the added excitement from both the sparkling and from Chaom. She knew that they were both really excited about meeting each other, just like Pandimala was excited to meet her little femme. Luckily, they had arranged with the ninjas at the dojo to provide a protoform for them to use. Pandimala had decided to go with that approach instead of building the frame herself like her carriers did. She was happy when they said that Cybertron's core had recently started to produce sparkling sized protoforms and that she was allowed to have one for her sparkling.

"Pandimala, are you ok?" Chaom asked her for the hundredth time.

Pandimala smiled and nodded before saying, "Yes Chaom, just like the last time you asked."

Chaom sighed and said, "I know. But I'm just worried."

Pandimala shook her helm and chuckled before saying, "Don't be worried. I'll let you know as soon as I feel the sparkling start to detach dear. Then, you can whisk me away to the med center as fast as your spark contents. But, don't blame me if I empty my tanks all over you."

Chaom nodded and said, "I vow that I will not care that you purge your tanks on me as long as we get the sparkling to the med center as quickly and safely as we possibly can. I just can't wait to meet her."

Pandimala nodded and said, "I can't either dear."

Pandimala loved how everything seemed to be getting better. They hadn't heard a peep from the Virons since the attack on her and Balm and the council had seemed to settle down greatly since the meeting where an 'unknown' source pranked Dragstrip with the glitter and a new paint job. She chuckled at the memory. It had taken Dragstrip the rest of the solar cycle, meaning that the meetings for the day were canceled, to get it mainly off and there could still be some glitter seen from time to time.

"Pandimala, can you tell me the name choices please?" Chaom asked her.

Pandimala smirked and gave him a kiss on the cheek before saying, "Sorry dear, but I told you that I wasn't saying any of the choices until our little femme is here."

Chaom gave an exaggerated sigh and said, "But that is taking forever. What is taking so long?"

Pandimala laughed and said, "Dear, it's not like I can just order the sparkling to come out like I can order you to go get me some low grade. She will come when she wants to."

"So, is that a request for some low grade dear?" Chaom asked.

Pandimala shook her helm and said, "No dear. I was just using it as an example. Actually, I don't feel like having any energon today."

Chaom raised an optic ridge in confusion and said, "That's not a good thing dear. Aren't carriers usually always in the mood for some more energon since the sparkling needs some of the carrier's?"

Pandimala nodded and went to say something when she suddenly felt a small pull on her spark. Was that what she thought it was?

"Pandimala, are you ok?" Chaom asked in concern as he put a servo on her shoulder.

Pandimala went to nod when she felt another pull, but this one was a lot stronger.

"Chaom, we need to go." Pandimala said in a strained voice.

She felt like she was going to strangle Chaom when he put a confused look on his faceplate and asked, "Go where dear?"

He had bugged her all that time and now that it was time he didn't have a fragging clue what was going on? She narrowed her optics at him as the sparkling pulled again before yelling, "THE SPARKLING YOU FRAG HELM; SHE'S COMING!"

* * *

Chaom's optics opened in shock for a click before picking her up bridal style and sprinting down the streets to the main med center. He had spent all of that time complaining about the sparkling not coming that he didn't see the signs of it coming sooner. He felt like he was going to hit himself.

"Chaom!" Pandimala yelled from his arms.

"What is it dear?" Chaom asked.

"Contact my creators, Megatron, Starscream, well contact the Decepticons that we are close to, Ultra Magnus, the council members who actually like us, the other Autobots who are close to us, and the other Scouters. Tell them what is going on. Once I'm with the medics, that is." Pandimala ordered.

Chaom had to smile at that. Even when she was about to have a sparkling, she still found ways to make sure that everybot that needed to be there was there. He really had a wonderful bondmate.

When he finally got to the med center, he ran in and yelled, "BALM! RATCHET! RAZOR! IT'S TIME!"

He knew the general area for the delivery wing so he went in that direction. Once he hit the section of the center, he was met by Balm. She then led him to one of the back rooms. Once the door opened, he placed Pandimala on one of the open berths.

"How long has the sparkling been pulling on her spark?" Ratchet asked as the medics started their work.

"It has been about fifteen clicks." Chaom said.

Razor nodded and said, "Good. You got her here in good time. Now, get out."

Chaom frowned and stepped forward while saying, "What? Now wait a minute,"

"NOW! All three medics yelled at him, giving him the death glare.

Chaom flinched at their glares and realized that he did not want to get them angry so he nodded and ran out. Once he was outside the doors, he opened his comm. link and contacted Malice.

"Chaom, what's happening?" Malice asked.

"Look, I don't have time to talk but you need to get down to the med center in Iacon if you want to see your grand creation right away." Chaom stated. He knew that he had many calls to make.

On the other end of the line, Malice said, "We will be there right away." He then heard her yell off to the side, "Pandemonium, we are going to Iacon! NOW!" She then cut the line.

Ok, next on his list were the Autobots which included Ultra Magnus and the ones that liked them. So, he requested a comm. request with Ultra Magnus.

"Hello Chaom, is Pandimala alright?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"She is more than alright. Get the Autobots that we knew on Earth, Alpha Trion, Knockout, Breakdown, Botanica, Chromia, and yourself down here if you want to meet our daughter as soon as possible." Chaom answered.

"She is having it now? I'll tell them and be there immediately." Ultra Magnus stated before he cut the line.

Ok, next up were the other Scouters. Luckily, he knew the easiest way to do that. So, he sent a comm. request to the one bot he knew would be able to spread the information to the other Scouters.

"Remcy here. What's up Chaom?" Remcy answered.

"Pandimala is having our sparkling and I need you to tell just the other Scouters as soon as you can before you think about coming down." Chaom said.

"Your little femme is coming? Consider the others told and me on my way!" Remcy stated before cutting off the line.

Now, he only had one more call to make. Calling up the comm. link, he waited for the mech to answer.

"Chaom, what's Pandimala's status? How long does she think before the sparkling is going to come?" Megatron asked as soon as he picked up.

"Frag guessing Megatron. I'm at Iacon's main med center and Pandimala is bringing our sparkling into this world right now. Tell the other Decepticons that we know and tell 'Screamer before you get your aft down here." Chaom answered.

"She's having it now?" Megatron exclaimed before saying off screen, "Starscream, send out the alert. She is having the sparkling now! Then we have to get to Iacon immediately!" He then said to Chaom, "We will be there as soon as we can!" He then cut the line.

Now that Chaom had a click, he could now feel the worry that he had heard all sires felt as their loved one was giving birth. He was worried as the Pit. He hated not knowing what Pandimala's condition was and he hated not being able to help her through it. But, he figured that the medics had a pretty good idea about what they were doing.

Pedesteps running down the hallway had him look up and he was surprised to see Ultra Magnus, Knockout, Megatron, Starscream, Malice, Pandemonium, and Alpha Trion.

"We're not too late, are we Chaom?" Malice asked in worry.

Chaom shook his helm and said, "No, they are still in there. Is anybot else here?"

Megatron let out a laugh and said, "You should be asking who isn't here. The whole main entrance is jammed full of our friends trying to get in to see Pandimala. We only got through because of our ranking and family relationship. They wouldn't even let Chromia, Breakdown, and Botanica in."

Chaom raised an optic ridge at that and asked, "Then why did they let you in Knockout?"

Knockout smirked and said, "Believe it or not, I was actually a fully certified medic before getting into politics. Wouldn't actually mind going back into it now that I know what being a politician is like."

They all chuckled and Chaom was about to say something when the delivery room doors opened and Balm poked her helm out before locking optics with Chaom and saying, "Chaom, do you want to come in and see your daughter?"

Chaom nodded and quietly followed Balm inside. Inside the room, he was scared when he heard silence. That wasn't normal for most sparklings. Most sparklings, well, he had heard that they were usually screaming their vocal chords off.

"Chaom." Pandimala started, causing him to snap out of his thoughts and walk up to her.

"Yes Pandimala?" He asked right before he got her into view.

Once he arrived at the side of her berth, he smiled down at both Pandimala and the bundle in her arms.

"Meet Malwing." Pandimala whispered with a small smile.

Chaom then looked at the little femme in his bondmate's arms and smiled. Malwing was a seeker femme but she was colored beige with purple and black markings. Actually, her coloring matched Blitzwing's to the point. She had one normal optic and one that had a retractable visor in front of it, both colored lime green, just like her carrier's were. On top of her helm she had four spikes, the two outside ones, which were the bigger ones, were curved in toward the center of her helm and the two smaller ones in the middle were curved away from the center of her helm. Of course, she had a small smile on her faceplate.

Chaom put a digit next to Malwing's helm before saying, "It is so nice to meet you Malwing. I'm your sire." He then glanced back at the door and asked, "Are you fit enough for some visitors?"

"Who is there?" Pandimala asked.

"Your creators, Knockout, Megatron, Starscream, Ultra Magnus, and Alpha Trion. Is that too many?" Chaom answered and then asked.

Pandimala shook her helm and said, "No, just as long as they don't crowd around and they are quiet. She hasn't gotten upset yet and I don't want her to start."

Chaom nodded before turning to Razor and saying in a whisper, "You can let the others out there in as long as they don't crowd around and are quiet."

Razor nodded and headed toward the door. Chaom returned his attention to Pandimala and Malwing and he only could think of one thing.

He was the luckiest sire in existence.

* * *

**Balm: AWWWWWW! She is so cute!**

**Pandimala: I know. Remind me to give the Authoress a big thank you. All of that hardship really did pay off in the end.**

**Malice: I want to see my grand creation!**

**Authoress: Next chapter Malice. Just be patient.**

* * *

**AN: Well, here is the next chapter. And...YEAH! Little Malwing has joined us in this story! Now, I wonder what is going to be happening next? All I know is that I am going to want to be around. Until then though, please read and review. But no flames.**


	11. Family Matters

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Malice: I want to see my grand creation now!**

**Pandemonium: Malice darling, you know that carriers are usually exhausted after having a sparkling. Especially first time carriers.**

**Malice: *sighs* I guess you are right darling.**

**Ultra Magnus: Well, let's hope we get to see the new sparkling this chapter.**

**Authoress: You will all see.**

* * *

Ch. 11: Family Matters

Megatron was anxious to see the little femme that they had all been waiting four months for. The last sparkling that he had seen had been Pandimala and that had been many, many stellar cycles ago. Now, he was going to be able to see said femme's own little sparkling. But, they had to wait until Pandimala and Chaom both said that it was ok for the others to come inside.

"If I have to wait any longer, I think I am going to blow a fuse." Malice stated as she paced yet again.

"Don't worry Malice. I'm sure that Pandimala will let us in soon." Pandemonium said to comfort his mate.

Megatron nodded and said, "Plus, we have waited four months. I don't think a little while longer is going to offline any of us."

Just then, the door opened and Razor poked his helm out.

"Can we come see them now?" Ultra Magnus asked.

Razor nodded and said, "Yes but Pandimala has requested that you all not crowd around her and that you keep your voices down. The little femme hasn't made much ruckus yet and Pandimala doesn't want her to start now."

Megatron was surprised to hear that the new femme hadn't been crying much. But, as he thought more about it, it made sense since Pandimala hadn't cried that much when she was first born.

Megatron nodded and said, "That is understandable."

Razor smiled and said, "Well, then come on in. The little femme sure is cute."

Megatron was now anxious to get inside but he didn't want to cause a disturbance so he allowed Malice and Pandemonium in before he followed with the others following him. When they got inside, they all circled around so it went Chaom, who was next to Pandimala, Pandemonium, Malice, himself, Ultra Magnus, Alpha Trion, Starscream, and Knockout was on Pandimala's other side. The medics were still cleaning up.

When he first looked at the femme, the first thing that caught his attention was that she was just a flier. The next thing that he noticed was that she had Blitzwing's coloring. He chuckled to himself when he remember that Malice and Pandemonium had wanted Blitzwing's coloring on Pandimala and now it was on their grand creation.

"She is so cute dear." Malice said in a whisper.

Pandimala smiled and said, "I know."

"What's her designation?" Ultra Magnus asked.

Pandimala glanced down at her femme and said, "Her name is Malwing."

Malwing; Megatron tossed the name around in his helm for a little before realizing that it was a wonderful name. He then studied the little femme more and saw that she had one normal optic and one that had a retractable visor. Both were colored the same green as her carrier's and sire's optics. Malwing then glanced at him and smiled and Megatron couldn't help but smile back.

"May I hold her Pandimala?" Malice asked.

Pandimala seemed to think and look down at Malwing before nodding and saying, "Alright. You all can. Just be very, very careful."

Malice huffed and gently took Malwing before saying, "I have had a sparkling before 'Mala. I know what I am doing.

Pandimala smiled and said, "I know. I guess it is just my carrier programming kicking in."

Malice nodded and handed Malwing off to Pandemonium after a few clicks. He just stared at Malwing and smiled for a couple of clicks before handing the femme back to Malice. Malice then turned to him and said, "Do you wish to hold Malwing Megatron?"

Megatron then realized that he was next so he nodded and carefully got hold of Malwing before cradling the little femme. That was when Malwing did something. She looked up at him and giggled before poking his chestplate with her sharp digits. Megatron smiled. He knew that this little femme was going to be just as wonderful as her carrier. He then turned to Ultra Magnus and said, "You want to hold Malwing?"

* * *

Ultra Magnus stared at Malwing for the longest time. He was reminded of Pandimala so much when he looked at little Malwing's optics. It reminded him of when he had first found Pandimala and how she had looked at him with the same colored optics.

He then realized that he was just staring so he nodded and said, "Yes, please."

Megatron nodded and gently handed Malwing over. As he held Malwing, Ultra Magnus remembered when he held Pandimala for the first time. Malwing really was just like her carrier.

"You are a cute little thing, aren't you?" Ultra Magnus said as he tickled Malwing's wings with his digits.

"Careful Ultra Magnus. If she is like Pandimala she will get you back for that." Starscream warned.

Ultra Magnus chuckled and asked, "You wouldn't do that to me, would you Malwing?"

Malwing just smiled back at him and that made Ultra Magnus think. If Malwing did turn out like Pandimala, then she would have the payback gene inherited so that meant that it would be even more deadly coming from her.

After a few clicks of holding Malwing, Ultra Magnus turned to Alpha Trion and handed Malwing over to him. The old mech cooed at Malwing and rocked her a little before saying, "Yep, you will be a servo full, that much I do know." He then turned and handed Malwing to Starscream.

Ultra Magnus could see the seeker programming kick in almost immediately when Starscream got hold of Malwing securely. Starscream had a slight defensive look in his optics and Ultra Magnus felt nervous about the seeker. But, when he glanced at Pandimala and saw that she was smiling, he knew that his fears were misplaced. Starscream then lightly brushed his digits against Malwing's wings and whispered a few things before he turned to Knockout and handed Malwing over to the councilmech/medic.

The red mech was nervous when he was holding Malwing and everybot knew that it was because he feared for his finish. But, when Malwing made no move to touch his plating, Knockout brought the femme closer and rocked her for a little before he whispered something. Once he was finished, he gently handed Malwing back to Pandimala.

"That is one fine seeker you have there, Pandimala." Starscream stated with a smirk.

Pandimala smiled and shook her helm before saying, "Yes Starscream, and she may take lessons on flying from you once she is old enough. But for now, let her enjoy her sparkling hood."

Starscream smiled and said, "Thank you Pandimala."

"But," Pandimala added. "You are going to have to share that responsibility with Chaom and I. We are fliers too you know."

Starscream sighed and smiled before saying, "Of course."

Pandimala then yawned and Ultra Magnus could see that she was still exhausted so he said, "Come on bots. Let's let Pandimala and Chaom have some time together."

The others nodded and turned to leave. As he was about to leave though, Pandimala said, "Thank you Ultra Magnus."

Ultra Magnus smiled and nodded before saying, "You deserve it Pandimala. Now, get some rest." He then followed the others out of the room. As he walked, he sighed as he knew that they would have to tell about Malwing to all the bots waiting. This was going to be fun.

* * *

"Ok, due to the fact that it has been announced that Pandimala has given birth to her first sparkling, there will be no practice for the next three solar cycles. We all should celebrate the fact that there hasn't been a sparkling on Cybertron for stellar cycles. So, go and enjoy yourselves and maybe go and visit your families. Dismissed." Kappo stated to the troops in front of him.

Shrike let out a sigh of relief and turned to Alphego when Kappo said that. They hadn't had a break since the time that she and Alphego had gone to the Crystal Gardens. Shrike knew that during that time though, both of them had improved greatly on their fighting skills and their abilities. She had grown exponentially more agile and Alphego could now fight with his clone almost perfectly. But, he still had problems when the enemy would fire a weapon at the clone. Shrike could see that he was trying really hard and she knew that he would get even better soon.

"Hey Alphego, how was practice?" She asked him.

He shrugged and smiled before saying, "Pretty good I guess." He then seemed to think for a click before saying, "Hey, should we go and visit our creators like Kappo suggested we should?"

Shrike nodded and said, "Yeah. I mean, it has been almost half a stellar cycle at least since we have last seen your creators and Primus knows it's been at least that long since I have seen mine. Let's head over to your place first because we know that they will most likely be there."

Alphego nodded before holding out his servo and saying, "Could I escort you dear femme?"

Shrike let out a laugh and bowed before taking his servo and saying, "I would be delighted good mech."

The two of them then let out a laugh and started to walk down the streets of Iacon. Both of their creators lived pretty close to each other so Shrike knew the way. As they walked, Shrike suddenly realized something. "Hey Alphego."

"Yeah Shrike?" Alphego asked.

"We haven't thought about what faction we are going to join after boot camp." Shrike stated.

"What are you talking about Shrike? Doesn't going to boot camp mean that we are going to be Autobots?" Alphego questioned.

Shrike shook her helm. She had, overheard, a council meeting the other solar cycle during their break and she had heard them discussing it. "Not from what I have heard. I heard last night while I was spying on the council, as practice of course, that we are going to have a choice between the three factions now that we all are allies."

Alphego glanced at her and shrugged his shoulders before saying, "I don't know Shrike. We can think about that as the time draws closer."

The two of them then stopped their conversation as they arrived at Alphego's creator's place. When they got in front of the door, Shrike smirked and said, "So, let's go and see your creators."

Alphego's smile faulted and she could tell that he was nervous. She motioned toward the door and she nodded at Alphego to give him her encouragement. Letting out a sigh, Alphego finally knocked on the door.

"Hey Chainmail, Backdrop; go and get the door." Shrike heard Crystal Moonbeam and her own carrier, Amore, yell from somewhere in said house.

"Hmm, seems like we both will be seeing our families today." Alphego commented with a smirk.

Shrike was just standing there in shock. She hadn't seen her creators in such a long time that she was now nervous. It was one thing to tease Alphego, but it was another thing entirely for her to be in this situation.

When the door opened, Shrike looked and smiled when she saw both Chainmail and Backdrop standing there.

"Well Primus bless, Shrike, Alphego; this is a surprise. What are you doing here?" Chainmail greeted and then asked.

Shrike smiled and said, "Well, we've been given a few solar cycles off and we decided to come down for a surprise visit."

Backdrop let a small smile off before he nodded and said, "That does sound wonderful." He then leaned closer to them and whispered, "Now, let's go see your carriers. They will probably not leave us in peace once they find out that you are here."

Shrike let out a chuckle and shook her helm before saying, "No, probably not. But, let's go see them anyways."

Their two sires nodded before the four of them walked inside. As they walked, Shrike could not help but have flashbacks of the many solar cycles that she spent playing in this very house. She smiled at the memories that came to her.

When they neared the kitchen, she heard Amore yell, "Who was it dear?"

Shrike and Alphego both motioned for their sires not to tell so they nodded before Backdrop said, "Just some bot looking for directions. I swear there are so many new bots in town."

Shrike suddenly had a brilliant idea. She pulled Alphego closer to her and whispered her idea to him. Once she finished, he smirked and nodded before going around to the second entrance to the living room. A few clicks later, she peeked through the doorway and saw that both of their carriers were looking away from the entrances. Looking at the other entrance, she smirked when she saw Alphego standing in the doorway.

Nodding at him, she slowly crept into the room. She knew that, for this to work, she couldn't make a sound. When she got right behind her carrier, she nodded to Alphego and he slowly walked in as well. As he walked, Shrike watched him as he crept closer. Soon, both of them were ready.

Shrike did a silent count to him before they both put their servos over their creators' optics. They felt their creators chuckle a little and Amore said, "Backdrop, now isn't the time for fun and games. We have to get the house cleaned. You never know who is going to come by."

Shrike nodded at Alphego and he said, "Exactly what I was thinking, what about you?"

Both Amore and Moonbeam jumped as he said that and so Shrike said, "Same here."

Both femmes jumped again and Shrike and Alphego both released their servos to allow their carriers to turn around.

"Shrike!" Amore yelled out in surprised shock.

"Alphego!" Moonbeam yelled out in the exact same way at the exact same time.

Shrike smirked and said, "Hiya."

"Why didn't you tell us that they were here Chainmail?" Amore demanded.

Chainmail smirked and said, "They wanted to surprise you two. And I am guessing that they did."

Moonbeam smiled and motioned to the furniture before saying, "Well, sit down and tell us everything."

The six of them then sat down. Once they were all sat down, Chainmail smiled and said, "It is nice to see you two."

"Yes, how has boot camp been? We want to know everything." Amore said.

Shrike and said, "Oh, there are so many places that we could begin."

"How about you start with the first day of boot camp?" Backdrop suggested.

Shrike nodded and said, "Good idea. Well, we are on a team three other mechs. Their names are Flarespot, Nightfreeze, and Toxic Root."

"Oh, and how do you like them?" Moonbeam asked.

Alphego shook his helm and said, "We really don't like each other much. But we tolerate each other."

Shrike then continued, "Well, first day went ok. We even met the Guardians."

"You met the Guardians?" Chainmail asked in shock.

Alphego nodded and said, "Yeah, they came to observe our boot camp troop. They are even giving us personal training. They have even helped Alphego here control his clone."

"Really? How did that happen?" Moonbeam asked.

"Well, that answer is simple; They asked and I said yes for all of us."

They all turned at the voice and Shrike couldn't believe that Tana was standing there.

"Tana; what are you doing here?" Alphego asked.

Tana smiled and said, "Well, Pandimala gave birth to her sparkling, whose name is Malwing, and none of the rest of us are allowed to see her until Pandimala gets some more rest."

"Yes, and we decided to go and see if you two were wanting any more training. But, when we got there, we found Kappo leaving saying he was going on a vacation and that you two were coming home to visit your family."

Shrike was surprised even more when Hinge's voice came from behind Tana and the other Guardians came into view.

Chem nodded his helm toward Moonbeam, Amore, Chainmail, and Backdrop before saying, "Excuse us for coming in without knocking."

Blackbit let out a chuckle and said, "Yeah, but Tana here can forget her manners when she has her processor set on something."

"You are really training them. We thank you for that." Chainmail stated.

Hinge nodded and said, "Well, they have been a great joy to train. I can see that they were raised wonderfully."

Shrike went to say something but Foresight said, "Yeah, we get it. We're happy, they're happy, now let's get to know each other."

Shrike let out a laugh as they all came in and got settled. Once they were settled, they all began to tell stories.

* * *

Sentinel growled as he paced in the empty council room. There was supposed to be a meeting but that got cancelled because Pandimala decided that this solar cycle was the one that she was going to have her sparkling. Of course, he wasn't the only one who was upset. The seven other council members who were just as fond of Pandimala as he was were not thrilled either. Actually, that was why he was here. Those seven had asked him to come so the eight of them could have a private meeting.

Of course, they hadn't said that they would be late. He had been waiting a good thirty clicks and none of the seven had arrived yet. This was getting ridiculous. He had to go and meet Pitch and the Virons eventually to discuss with them what kind of security that was up right now around Pandimala.

"Sentinel Prime. Forgive our tardiness but we had to shake our security detail." Dragstrip stated as he and the other seven entered.

"That is perfectly alright highly esteemed members of the council." Sentinel forgave.

"So, what are we going to do about Pandimala?" Dragstrip asked.

"How about we just try and banish her again?" Crumplezone asked. Sentinel shook his helm. He had no idea how Crumplezone got elected onto the council.

"We can't do that 'Zone! That would cause an uproar and the council would lose power." Ransack reprimanded his friend.

"How about we try to frame her for a crime? One that none of the other leaders will tolerate?" Setback suggested.

Roadkill shook his helm and said, "She is too close of friends with them and plus she holds the loyalty of too many bots."

Backburner nodded and said, "Plus, ever since the Virons attacked her, she is never alone. She would always have an alibi."

Burnout shook his helm and said, "We need to figure out a way of getting rid of her without showing that we were involved. How about those Viron characters? We could join them secretly maybe and still stay on the council to inform then when they can attack."

Dragstrip shook his helm and said, "While that is a brilliant idea, we have no way of contacting these Virons."

"That's where I come in." Sentinel stated. He couldn't have asked for this meeting to be better. Plus, Pitch would be grateful for more bots on their side, especially more bots on the Autobot side who had access to Pandimala.

Setback raised an optic ridge at him and said, "And how do you come in Sentinel?"

Sentinel smirked and said, "The Virons contacted me before the first attack on Pandimala. They asked if I was willing to help them restore Cybertron to its previous state and get rid of Pandimala."

"You were the one who told them that Pandimala was sparked, weren't you?" Burnout questioned.

Sentinel nodded and said, "And frag were they glad for that information. They had wondered why she had acted so strangely during their first attempt. So, are you bots in or out?"

Setback glanced around and said, "I know that my voting for this fragging peace we are in now was a mistake and I would risk anything to see that fragging femme taken down."

The others, except for Dragstrip, Burnout, and Roadkill said around the same things and their agreement. Burnout glanced at Sentinel and said, "Of course I am in. This alliance is ridiculous."

Roadkill nodded and said, "I'm in too. Those Dragon Scouters have warped everybot's thinking processes and they need to be taken down with every bot who stands in the way of that."

Dragstrip was the final one to speak and he nodded before saying, "The Autobot side has grown too weak and now, the Virons, will rise above them and show them what they have given up." He then turned to Sentinel and said, "I am in as well Sentinel. I also believe that you should continue to be the spokesbot for us to them since it took us forever for us to ditch our security detail to just come to this meeting."

Sentinel nodded and said, "Then I will be off to report to them immediately." He then turned and left. As he walked, Sentinel couldn't help but feel confident in their position. They were finally getting some headway in numbers and strategies. They would get Pandimala and her sparkling Malwing next time they met.

* * *

**Shrike: Authoress, I have a question...**

**Authoress: Yes Shrike?**

**Shrike: Do we really have to choose what faction we go to when we graduate from boot camp.**

**Authoress: *shrugs shoulders* I don't know.**

**Alphego: Shrike, I already told you that we did. I know that it is not going to be easy.**

**Shirke: Definitely.**

* * *

**AN: Well, here is the new and exciting chapter of this story. Hmm, I guess I gave you all a few things to chew on. One being what Shrike and Alphego are going to do about their choice of faction to follow along with the other three in there boot camp troop. Also, I wonder what is going to happen now that more bots are heading toward the Viron side? Well, I guess you will all find out as the chapters progress on. Until next chapter though, please read and review. But no flames. **


	12. Scouting Day

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Ok, now, how are we going to do this?**

**Authoress: Well, we are going to have to be secretive. **

**Balm: Plus, we can't let any of them know that we are doing this.**

**Tana: Sounds simple enough.**

**Beam: But, with our luck, nothing is ever simple.**

**Whirlwind: Yeah, especially since we have the bondmates that we do.**

**Authoress: I'm not telling if you don't.**

* * *

Ch. 12: Scouting Day

"Ok 'Mala, I think it is safe for you and Malwing to go home now." Balm stated.

Pandimala was relieved when she heard that she could now go home. It wasn't like she didn't like spending time with Balm, but she was ready to go home. She wanted to show Malwing where she was going to be living. This was all very exciting to her.

"Can't wait Balm. Let's go get Malwing out of the nursery and then let's get me home." Pandimala stated with a smile.

Balm nodded and said, "Ok, let me help you up. You haven't been up much since the birth."

Pandimala nodded and swung her legs around to the other side of the berth and allowed Balm to grab onto her arm before she made her way onto her pedes. She felt a little weak at first but she was glad when she was able to stand. Balm then let go of her arm and led her to the nursery. When they arrived, Pandimala smiled when she saw that Malwing was awake and looking around curiously.

Walking up to her and picking the little femme up, Pandimala smiled and said, "Hey there Malwing. Ready to go home?" Malwing simply stared up at her with a small smile and Pandimala took that as a yes.

"Now, Malwing isn't ready for flying yet or driving so you are going to have to walk her home. Luckily, you have an escort waiting for you." Balm stated quietly.

"Who? I just found out that I am leaving." Pandimala asked in confusion.

The two of them then started to walk to the lobby and Balm smirked before answering, "Malice wouldn't leave no matter what we all said to her. But, I did manage to convince her to wait in the lobby."

Pandimala let out a laugh and said, "Of course my carrier did that. Well, let's not keep her waiting."

So, the two femmes walked down the hallways for a few clicks before they finally arrived at the lobby. When they got there, Pandimala smiled when she saw Malice standing there smiling.

"Pandimala, I am guess that they are finally allowing you to go home. Well, let's get going. I want to play with my grand creation some more and I can't do that until we get you home." Malice stated.

Pandimala let off a chuckle before saying, "Alright Malice." She then turned to Balm and said, "See you later Balm."

Balm nodded and so Pandimala and Malice walked out of the med center and onto the streets of Iacon. As they walked, Malice told Pandimala about the different things that had been happening and how almost every business had closed up on the solar cycle that Malwing was born to celebrate because she was the first actual sparkling that they had seen in a while, since the jet twins were put into adult frames. Pandimala could even see as they walked that bots were stopping in their paths to get a glance of Malwing. Pandimala smiled and loved the attention that her little femme was getting.

"She certainly is popular." Malice commented.

Pandimala smiled and brought Malwing closer before saying, "Well, she is gorgeous. Who wouldn't love her, carrier?"

Malice laughed and the two femmes continued to walk until they got home. Once they were home, Pandimala put Malwing in the indoor baby swing before going to grab herself a cube of low grade.

* * *

Chaom sighed in relief as he finished talking with Pandimala over their bond. She had called to say that she had been released from the hospital and that Malice had walked her home and the two of them were in the living room playing with Malwing.

Chaom wished desperately that he had been there to walk Pandimala home but he had to attend a council meeting. Luckily, the one for the day was not very long and it was going to be over by mid solar cycle, which would be in a few clicks. The bot up talking right now was, of course, Dragstrip and he seemed to want to take even longer than normal this solar cycle.

When Dragstrip finally said that the council was dismissed for the day, Chaom stood up and walked out of the building. But, not two clicks later, he heard a voice yell, "Chaom, wait up."

Chaom turned to see Starscream running towards him. So, since he wasn't in too much of a rush today, he stopped and waited for Starscream to get closer before he asked, "What can I do for you Starscream?"

"Pandemonium just called and wondered if you and I could join him at the firing range in Kaon." Starscream stated.

Chaom thought about that for a click. He really wanted to get home and see Pandimala and Malwing but he knew that they would be fine with Malice there. Plus, he knew that he hadn't spent much time with Pandemonium and Starscream when it wasn't related to politics or when he wasn't with Pandimala. So, he nodded and said, "Sure, let's go and see him."

Starscream nodded and the two mechs transformed before flying out toward Kaon. As they flew, Chaom realized that Starscream seemed to be a lot happier than he had heard from the Autobots so he asked, "Are things going better between you and Megatron, Starscream?"

Starscream veered closer and said, "Yeah, it has been a lot better. He definitely trusts me more than he did while we were fighting the Autobots on Earth."

Chaom let out a chuckle and said, "Well, it might have to do with the fact that he also hasn't had to worry about having a bomb attached to his back."

Starscream chuckled back and said, "Well, I guess that would be one thing. He has started to trust me a lot more since I haven't been trying to offline him. Plus, I also think that it has to do with the war being over and all of us settling into a peace time atmosphere. Everything is a lot calmer now, for the most part, and we can all live happily."

Chaom nodded in understanding and went to say more when they arrived at the firing range. When they arrived, they saw that Pandemonium was blasting away at some targets. After he finished his magazine, he turned and realized that Chaom and Starscream were there and he said, "Hey mechs, glad you could join me. Want to pick up a blaster and get some practice in?"

Chaom shrugged and said, "Why not? Never know when I might need to use it." So, the three mechs then blasted away at the targets. As he shot, Chaom knew that he might have to use a blaster to protect his family in case the Virons decided to attack them. This time though, he would be ready.

* * *

Bumblebee raced around the track in a flurry. He was bored and he needed to release some energy. Zarron had been really busy lately looking around for Remcy and he hadn't had much time for scout training. Zarron had called him and said that he had to go out and check something but he would meet him today at a location of Bumblebee's choosing after he was done. Bumblebee had chosen the track and he had seen Zarron smirk when he had suggested it.

Zooming around another corner, Bumblebee then thought about Sari. Ever since she had become a bot, he had been feeling different around her. It was different in a good way, he thought, but it still confused him. He would get nervous around her sometimes and he would get upset if a mech who wasn't a part of their friend circle talked to her. He didn't know what he was feeling but he was determined to find out on his own.

"Getting faster Bumblebee."

Bumblebee stopped and transformed when he heard the voice and he turned around to see Zarron standing there. "How do you do that?" Bumblebee asked. No matter how much he trained under the motorcycle mech, he could never detect when Zarron would walk into a room. That was another one of his goals. He was going to know when Zarron walked into a room before he announced himself one of these solar cycle, no matter how long it would take.

"Thanks. So, are we going to do some training?" Bumblebee stated, not wanting an answer to his previous question, and then asked.

To his surprise, Zarron shook his helm and said, "No, we aren't going to be training today."

Bumblebee raised and optic ridge and asked, "Then what are we going to be doing?"

Zarron smirked and said, "Do you remember that promise I made you a while ago about what would happen when I had a free day?"

Bumblebee had to think about that. Zarron was usually very careful about his promises and Bumblebee knew that he had made very few to him. But, that was when he remembered what Zarron had said when he had visited his teacher at his house. "We are going to go and visit the scout training facility?" Bumblebee asked in shock.

He was excited when Zarron smiled and nodded his helm before saying, "Yep and I got permission from Alpha Trion to have full access to the facility so we can go anywhere our sparks desire. Of course, I know all the secrets so we can have some fun."

"So, are we going to be doing any training?" Bumblebee asked.

Zarron nodded his helm and said, "If you want to. Plus, I can get us access to their situation room so you can actually use your skills in a scouting situation."

Bumblebee felt ecstatic and said, "Thank you so much Zarron. What are we waiting for? Let's go!" He then walked next to Zarron and the two mechs made their way to the training facility. Bumblebee was really excited for this and he knew that this was going to be an awesome experience.

* * *

When the two mechs arrived at the building that Zarron had known as a second home for many of his pre-war end Cybertron days, Zarron couldn't help but feel excited for his visit. He knew that, while he was here, that he was bound to run into a few mechs that he would know and that would be a great time for him to introduce Bumblebee to some of the bots that trained him, trained with him, and that he had trained.

Once they walked through the doors, Zarron smiled as he already saw a familiar bot. "Hound! How've you been?"

The green jeep mech turned to him and a giant smile spread across his faceplate before he said, "As great as they can be since the war is over. How about you? I haven't seen you since the solar cycle before you left Cybertron."

Zarron let out a chuckle and said, "I'm doing ok. Just showing my newest student around."

Hound glanced at Bumblebee and smiled before holding out his servo and saying, "If Zarron here is training you, then you must have real potential."

Bumblebee shook his servo and said, "Thanks. How do you know Zarron?"

Hound let out a laugh as he said, "When Zarron came over here to train from boot camp, we were placed on the same team together from the first day until graduation. If it wasn't for Zarron, I don't think I would have gotten out."

"I don't think any of us would have graduated without Zarron's help." A voice seemed to say from the air. But, Zarron knew better. The mech who had said that had the same type of mod that Alpha Trion had given him before he left Cybertron with Pandimala.

Zarron smirked as Bumblebee jumped when a white and blue car mech suddenly seemed to appear out of thin air. "Mirage, how have you been holding up?" Zarron asked.

Mirage smirked and said, "I'm glad this fragging war is over and now we just get to relax and train the few bots who ask us. Like Hound was saying though, none of us would have graduated without your help. You were our study buddy. Well, that was when you weren't hanging out with 'Mala and the others and getting into fights."

Zarron smirked and said, "At least I rubbed off on you a little. I heard a few rumors that you made sure to give the council and Sentinel some heck about their policies when I left."

Mirage smirked and said, "Well, you weren't here and somebot had to do it." He then turned to Bumblebee and said, "So, Zarron's going to show you around? I think I will join you bots if you do not mind. This will give me a chance to see if Zarron's teaching style has changed. Plus, I heard Wheelie's around and he is going to flip when he finds out Zarron's here."

Zarron nodded and so he, Mirage, Hound, and Bumblebee started to walk down the halls and tell stories about the different places in the building. After a few clicks of walking, Zarron was about to lead them to the training room when a door opened and he felt something ram into his leg.

"Hey watch it bot. You need to learn when to stop." A familiar voice said.

"And how are you Wheelie?" Zarron greeted the orange car mech. Said mech was about the same height as Bumblebee, if maybe a tad bit smaller, but Zarron could see that the small mech that he had trained was excited to see him.

"I've been fine Zarron. How have the stellar cycles been going on?" Wheelie greeted and then asked.

Zarron smirked and said, "Just fine. This is Bumblebee and he is my new protégé."

Wheelie then looked at Bumblebee before smirking and saying, "Listen to what Zarron has to say. You never know when it can save the day."

Zarron could see that Wheelie was in a hurry so he said, "Well, it has been nice to see you. Have a good solar cycle."

Wheelie nodded and said, "Wheelie has to go and run. But seeing you has been fun." The young bot then scampered away.

"Does he always talk like that?" Bumblebee asked him as they started to walk toward the training area.

Zarron nodded and said, "Yeah, but you get used to it."

He then turned and realized that they had arrived at the door to the training room. Opening it, since the light above the door was green which meant that a bot had just finished a round of training, he stepped inside to see that a bot had just finished a training program. But, he was confused because, while he knew many of the bots at the facility, he had never seen this bot before. The bot was granite in coloring and had deep blue optics. He looked like he could transform into a sports car and he stood almost at the same height as Bumblebee.

When the mech walked up, he frowned when the mech glared at them and said, "What are you bots doing here? Trying to learn some better moves? I know that the bot Zarron gave you two a pathetic excuse for training help while you all were here learning, I doubt your two protégés could ever come up to my standards. My teacher is ten times better at training then that frag helm Zarron ever was." The pompous mech then pointed to both Zarron and Bumblebee before saying, "So, whose apprentice is whose?"

Zarron wanted this mech to talk a little more so he decided to act like an excitable recruit and took a step forward before saying, "I'm Zento and this is Bumblebee. Mirage is my teach and Hound is Bumblebee's. Who the frag are you and who is your teacher?"

Luckily, Mirage and Hound caught on to what he was doing and so Mirage said, "Zento, watch the language."

The mech in front of them smirked and said, "I'm Rook and my teacher happens to be Helex."

Zarron growled to himself in his helm when he heard the designation of Rook's teacher. He and Helex had a history. When he was here training, which was another story in itself, his team, which had consisted of him, Mirage, and Hound, found themselves usually going against Helex and his team. Those bots were always changing so Zarron couldn't remember all of their names but he always remembered Helex.

"What is the holdup in here Rook? I thought I told you to report to me immediately when you were done?" A very familiar voice to Zarron that was also unwelcome said from behind Rook, which meant that the bot, who was a car mech that was colored gray and deep blue and had medium blue optics, was coming in from the other entrance.

Rook turned around to him and jerked a thumb back at them before saying, "Mirage and Hound brought in their new protégé's and I was just finding out their names. The yellow one with black stripes is Bumblebee and the black one with blue flames is Zento."

Zarron then watched as Helex walked around Zento and studied them. He felt his optics narrow when he and Helex locked optics.

"Hmm, seems like we have an unexpected guest." Helex said to him, though Zarron could hear the hatred behind the statement.

"The same could be said about you Helex." Zarron stated, not trying to hide his anger.

Rook looked at him in shock and said in a rude voice, "You have no right to talk to a bot of higher standing then you like that you glitch helm."

Zarron then let out a humorless laugh and said, "You really should learn how to train your protégés on how to look up information about the bots that his teacher tells him about. It might make it look like he was learning something."

Rook looked like he was about to say something when Helex said, "Rook, unfortunately, he is not on a lower level then me. Have you not noticed the insignia on his chestplate? He is a Dragon Scouter. What more, his designation is not Zento."

Rook raised an optic ridge in confusion and looked at Zarron before asking, "If your designation is not Zento, then what is it?"

Zarron let off an evil smirk, one that he had picked up from Megatron, and said, "Well, if you must know, the designation is Zarron."

When Rook's optics widened in shock, Zarron felt like doing a victory dance. But, instead, he simply stood there and kept optic contact with Helex. He knew the signs of weakness and he would not risk giving Helex that advantage.

After a few clicks, Zarron felt like this would go on forever when the door opened behind him and he heard a very familiar femme voice say, "There you are Zar. I have been looking all over this building for you. Luckily, I ran into Wheelie and he told me that you headed this way."

Zarron turned around and smiled when he saw Beam standing there. Glancing at Hound and Mirage, he could see that they were curious about who she was.

Turning back to Helex, Zarron was surprised to watch the mech walk out of the room.

"And who are you pretty femme?" Mirage stated.

Zarron frowned and narrowed his optics at his friend but, before he could say anything, Beam smiled and said, "You must be Mirage. I'm Beam and I just so happen to be this mech's bondmate." She then came over and hugged his shoulders.

Mirage snapped his digits and sighed before smiling and saying, "Frag it Zarron. How did you get such a fine femme?"

Zarron laughed and said, "It is a long story."

Hound then stepped forward and said, "Well, we aren't going anywhere anytime soon."

Zarron sighed and said, "Fine, I guess we can have a story time. That's one of the main things about being a scout; listening to others' stories."

The five of them then sat down before Zarron launched into the tale of how he met Beam.

* * *

**Authoress: MUHAHAHA! More enemies! *evil grin***

**Zarron: So, ignoring the fact that you brought in Helex, what were you and the femmes talking about earlier?**

**Authoress: Nothing! *runs***

**Chaom: Now we know that they are hiding something.**

**Stormfire: I know, and that is the scary thing.**

* * *

**AN: Well, here is another awesome chapter. I plan on doing some back-stories after this series is finished about the original five (Pandimala, Balm, Zarron, Remcy, and Tana) and their experiences during that thirty stellar cycle period between that first day of boot camp and when Pandimala got kicked off of Cybertron. So, that is when you will know more about Helex. Well, this was fun. Can't wait for next chapter. It is going to be... interesting. Until then though, please read and review. But no flames.**


	13. Sparkling Mischief

**AN: I only own my Ocs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: This has been very wonderful Authoress.**

**Authoress: Thank you. And you are going to love this chapter. Though Ultra Magnus and Megatron might not.**

**Ultra Magnus: Why?**

**Megatron: I think that you and I should start running Magnus.**

* * *

Ch. 13: Sparkling Mischief

Pandimala onlined her optics and glanced around curiously. She couldn't see Chao m anywhere. Standing up, she walked into the living room and smiled when she saw that Chaom was holding Malwing on the c ouch and trying to get her to talk.

"Sire, can you say sire, Malwing?" Chaom asked her in a soft voice.

Pandimala smiled when Malwing just looked up at him and giggled.

Chaom sighed and said, "Come on dear. I know you have it in you. Just one little word."

Malwing just smiled and looked around. Pandimala smiled when their optics locked and Malwing reached her arms out to her. Chaom looked toward her and sighed before saying, "You know dear, you have the most terrible timing. She was so close to saying sire that I could feel it."

Pandimala let out a chuckle and said, "Of course she was dear." She then walked over and sat down next to Chaom before taking Malwing and saying, "Don't let your sire press you dear. You take all the time you need."

Chaom frowned and said in a complaining voice, "Hey, I wasn't that bad." He then looked at Malwing and made a face before saying, "I wasn't that bad, right Malwing?"

Pandimala let out a laugh when Malwing just stared at him before hugging her arm. 'Mala then looked at Chaom before saying, "Well, I guess that is her answer."

Chaom let out a sigh and said, "She of course would side with you. Maybe our next sparkling will get on my side more."

Pandimala nodded and said, "Maybe. Of course, I bet that Malwing is acting like this toward you because you thought that she was going to be a mech while I knew that she would be a femme."

"Right, you knew about as much as I did dear. Well, our next one will definitely be a mech." Chaom said in response.

Pandimala raised an optic ridge at him and said, "Oh really? And what will happen if our next sparkling happens to be a femme?"

Chaom smiled and said, "Well, then I'll love her and then hope our sparkling aft er that will be a mech."

Pandimala let out a laugh but stopped as a comm. link request came through. Seeing that it was Alpha Trion, she turned to Chaom and said, "Hang on dear, Alpha Trion is calling through." He nodded in acceptance so she answered it before saying, "Hello Alpha Trion. What can we do for you today?"

"Well, the council would like you and Chaom to come with us to Praxus to oversee the repairs. They figure that this will give our teams the opportunity to grow closer." Alpha Trion responded.

Pandimala sighed and looked at Malwing and Chaom before asking, "What about Malwing? Can we bring her?"

Alpha Trion sighed and said, "I do not think that it would be safe for her to be there while repairs are going on. Spark lings can be hazardously curious."

Pandimala sighed and stared at Malwing. She knew that Alpha Trion was right and she didn't want Malwing to get hurt but she also didn't know what she was going to do. But, that was when she thought of something wonderful.

"Alpha Trion, are Megatron and Ultra Magnus going to be there as well?" Pandimala questioned.

"I do not believe so. The council just said that they wanted you and your mate there so it would look like the Dragon Scouters and the council were getting along just fine." Alpha Trion answered.

She then smiled before saying, "Then I know exactly what I am going to do. As long as this works, we will be there as so on as we can." She then cut the line.

"What are we going to do about Malwing dear?" Chaom asked.

"We are going to ask two of the mechs that I trust to watch her while we are away." Pandimala stated before getting on her comm. link.

* * *

Ultra Magnus sighed in boredom. All of the council meetings for the day were cancelled because the council had to go and check up on the repairs of Praxus. Of course, since he wasn't invited to go, that left him with nothing to do.

He was about to go and hang out at Slapjack's when his comm. link went off. Seeing that the call was from Pandimala, he answered. "Hello Pandimala. What can I do for you this solar cycle?"

"Well, Chaom and I have been asked to go with the council to oversee some of the repairs of Praxus." Pandimala answered.

"What are you going to do about Malwing? " Ultra Magnus asked. He knew that Pandimala was very protective of Malwing because she was afraid that the Virons would come and attack and that was not something that she wanted Malwing to experience at such a young age.

"Well, that was why I called. I was wondering if you could come over and sparkling-sit for me and Chaom while we are away. She is a pretty well behaved little sparkling for the most part and you just have to remember when to feed her and put her down for her midday stasis nap." Pandimala asked.

Ultra Magnus was glad that she had asked . This would allow him to do something useful and he could have some fun at the same time. "Shouldn't be a problem Pandimala. When do you need me to be at your place?" He asked her.

There was a pause on the line before Pandimala said, "Could you be here as soon as possible? I have this feeling that the faster we meet up with the council, the easier this solar cycle will go."

Ultra Magnus was very curious about the pause so he said, "Sure. Why did you pause?"

There was another pause before she asked , "Well, we kind of asked Megatron if he would like to come as well. I just want Malwing to have the best and you two were the best that I could think of. Do you mind if he watches her with you?"

Ultra Magnus didn't mind at all. This would be a great time for him to get to know the leader a little better. So, he said, "Of course I don't mind. I'll be over in a few clicks."

"Ok, don't be late." Pandimala said with a laugh before disconnecting the line.

* * *

Megatron was anxious as he walked down the streets of Iacon to Pandimala's house . She had been very protective of Malwing, understandably, ever since she had left the hospital and he was glad that she had asked him to help Ultra Magnus sparkling-sit her while her and Chaom were away. It was a really great honor as he thought about it.

Finally arriving in front of her house, he knocked and heard movement inside before the door opened and he saw Pandimala standing there.

"Oh thank Primus you are here." She stat ed before turning around and saying, "Chaom, Megaton's here now! Let's go before we hold the council up any more then we already have!"

Pandimala then motioned him inside and s o he followed. Once inside, he could see that Ultra Magnus was already there. But, he didn't have enough time to relax because Chaom soon joined them and Pandimala said, "Ok, she is to be put down for her stasis nap in about two cycles. Feeding times are every other cycle. I fed her a cycle ago so in about a cycle, feed her. Her nap is only a cycle long and she will wake up when it is time for her to get fed again."

Megatron nodded and said, "Yes Pandimala . Now, don't you need to get going?"

Pandimala nodded and turned to both himself and Ultra Magnus before saying, "Again, thank you both so much for being able to come on such short notice."

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "It was no trouble Pandimala. Now, get going before you are even later."

And with that, Pandimala and Chaom ran o ut before transforming and flying off. Once they were out of sight, Megatron turned to Ultra Magnus, who was holding Malwing, and said, "Well, let's see if Pandimala has any story data pads that we could read her."

Ultra Magus nodded and said while they both looked, "Good idea. I'm sure that it would beneficial to Malwing to hear some stories." He then looked around before placing Malwing in the play pen.

"Another good idea Ultra Magnus. Malwing should be fine in there until we find a story." Megatron commented.

Megatron then walked into the living room and started to go through the data pads to see if there were any story ones out there. Not finding any, to his disappointment, he walked into the nursery and tried to see if there were any in there. Again, he was upset that he couldn't find any. Where did Pandimala hide those things?

"Found one!" He heard Ultra Magnus yell from another room.

Following the mech's voice, Megatron soon found himself in Pandimala and Chaom's room with the Autobot leader. In his servo, Megatron could see that Ultra Magnus was holding a data pad. "Which story is it?" Megatron asked.

"The Little Scout That Could." Ultra Magnus answered.

Megatron nodded. That sounded like it would be a good story to read Malwing. So, he said, "That is a pretty good story. One of Pandimala's favorites when she was a sparkling."

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "I know. Whenever I would go to visit her at Joint 's place, she and her friends would always ask for that one."

Megatron nodded, memories flowing back from that time, as he and Ultra Magnus walked back to the living room. When they got there though, Megatron felt his energon inside him freeze when the play pen was empty.

"Where is she?" Ultra Magnus asked in a panic.

"I don't know. This is bringing back too many memories from when Pandimala was little and she was always disappearing. The only difference was that Pandimala didn't have sadistic bots trying to kill her then and her carrier wasn't as panicked when Pandimala would go off.

A giggle coming from behind them had them both turning quickly. Megatron let out a sigh of relief when he saw that Malwing had crawled behind the dining room table and had hidden underneath one of the chair s. Megatron knew that this was going to be one heck of an evening. It seemed that Malwing had inherited much of her carrier's habits when Pandimala was a sparkling.

* * *

"Remind me to never go to one of those again if I can help it." Pandimala said as both she and Chaom flew back to their home from Praxus.

Chaom sighed and said, "It wasn't that bad dear. Just a little, tense."

Pandimala let out a huff of disbelief and asked, "Were you and I at the same place dear? Because I remember something to tally different happening."

The something different had been almost injurious. Almost as soon as she had gotten there, Dragstrip had started to get on her nerves. She was almost positive that he was purposely trying to get her fragged off. He kept making jabs at her not being around at the council meetings and she had to pull Chaom back at some points. But, Chaom had soon been holding her back when he 'accidently' bent her wing while 'accidently' tripping. After that, Dragstrip and Pandimala were on opposite ends of their party. Pandimala couldn't have been happier when Alpha Trion said that she and Chaom could head back home.

"I guess you are right dear. At least we get to see Malwing when we get home." Chaom stated and then comforted.

Pandimala let out a laugh and said, "Of course. I wonder how much trouble she has been giving Megatron and Ultra Magnus. "

Chaom let out a laugh and said, "I doubt she has done anything too serious."

Pandimala let out a chuckle and said, "You have no idea the trouble she could cause because she is my sparkling. You've only heard the nice stories of when I was little."

"Then I have extreme pity on Megatron and Ultra Magnus if she got any of that coding from you." Chaom stated.

Pandimala let out a laugh and was about to say something when she saw that they were above their house. They both then transformed and landed in front of the door. Worry immediately set in when she heard both Ultra Magnus and Megatron complaining on the other side. Not taking any chances, she ran inside. Once she saw the scene before her though, she couldn't help but smile.

Malwing had somehow gotten into hers and Chaom's paints, that they used for the occasional touch up, and had somehow painted Megatron all sky blue with black polka dots and had somehow painted Ultra Magnus all lime green with black servo prints.

The two mechs didn't notice their entrance until Chaom suddenly burst into laughter behind her and she was dragged into laughing loudly right behind him. The two leaders turned around and stared at them both.

After calming down, a little, Pandimala asked, "How did she do that to you two?"

Megatron let out a laugh and said, "Well , we thought we had put her down for bed and she seemed to have gone into recharge so we sat in the living room and both of us must have fallen into a small recharge. I woke up about half a cycle later, according to my internal clock, and I thought another bot had broken in when I saw Ultra Magnus painted like he was in recharge in the chair."

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "I thought the same thing when I woke up to see Megatron painted the way he was and staring."

"Where is Malwing now?" Chaom asked.

"We just got back from checking on her and she somehow got back into her crib. The only evidence that we have that Malwing did this was that she was covered in the paint." Ultra Magnus stated.

Megatron then let out a laugh and said, "She is just like you Pandimala."

Pandimala nodded at that. She knew that her femme had and she couldn't be any happier.

* * *

**Chaom: BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! That was hilarious! **

**Megatron: Speak for yourself.**

**Ultra Magnus: Yes, you were not the one painted.**

**Authoress: Oh, but Malwing enjoyed it. Didn't you Malwing?**

**Malwing: *giggles***

* * *

**AN: And here is another chapter for The Journey Chronicles! This was a pretty laid back chapter. Maybe I should start picking up the pace? Well, next chapter is going to have some more mention of the stubborn file that won't open for Remcy (Project: IOE) and that development is going to start coming unraveled in the upcoming chapters. Until then, please read and review. But no flames.**


	14. Almost Repeating the Past

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Authoress: Ok, can't be long. Hi. *runs off***

**Pandimala: I wonder what that was about?**

* * *

Ch. 14: Almost Repeating the Past

Remcy groaned in boredom. He had lost count of the months that he had spent trying to crack Project: IOE and he hadn't gotten anything new from it in quite some time. The program had a strange loop reverse that, every time he would try to get around it, would loop him back three steps behind and so he would have to go through it again and try something different. But, he had yet to beat it.

"Remcy, are you in here?"

Remcy turned around and smiled when he saw Whirlwind standing there. Sighing, he asked, "Have I been in here too long again dear?"

Whirlwind nodded and said, "Yes dear, and I miss you. But, I understand that you want to get through this file since Pandimala can't bring it up to the council until you get this sucker cracked." She then walked up and put her arms around Remcy's shoulders before saying, "Don't misunderstand my understanding with accepting. You have been in here for so long that I have lost track of the time. And, while having you at home can be handy sometimes, I want you to get out and get some air."

"But I feel like I am so close Whirl!" Remcy complained. Whirlwind shook her helm and Remcy couldn't have prepared for her striking the back of his helm with her servo. "YEOW! What was that for Whirl?" Remcy whined while rubbing the back of his helm.

He shuddered at Whirlwinds glare before she answered, "I did that because I know that Alpha Trion would have done the same thing."

Now he was confused. "Why would he have done that?"

He was feeling really stupid when she gave him an, 'are you serious?' look before saying, "You did this when you found out about the Autobots the same time we did. We couldn't get you away from that monitor except to recharge and sometimes even then you would recharge at the monitor and I would have to carry your sleeping aft to our berth. Thank Primus Alpha Trion arrived and reminded you that you intelligence officers need to go out in the field sometimes too. Now, do I have to resort to calling Alpha Trion and asking him to come down here to snap your helm out of this funk or did I get the point across?"

He stared at her in shock for a click. He had done it again. He had allowed one project to consume his time and he had forgotten to use the other methods of finding out information. "How did I do that again? I thought I would never fall into that cycle again." He sighed.

Whirlwind gave him a soft smile before hugging him and saying, "It has just been very difficult settling in to this non-war environment for you. You were always doing multiple projects at once that had you running all over the place. Now that the war is over, all you have to work on is Project: IOE and you just got too absorbed. Now," She then placed a kiss on his lips and held it for a few clicks before pulling back and saying, "Go and see some bots. Even if it is to talk about this project, I want you out of this house for the rest of the day."

Remcy sighed before saying, "Yes dear. See you tonight."

Whirlwind smiled and said, "See you tonight dear. I do love you."

Remcy smiled and waved before saying, "I love you too dear." He then walked out of the door. Once he was a block away from his house, he said, "Now, I need to make a call."

He activated his comm. link and called a number that he hadn't called in over a hundred stellar cycles.

After a few clicks, a bored voice came on and said, "This is the Cybertronian Intelligence Agency. How may we help you?"

Remcy smirked to himself as he walked and said, "Hello. I was wondering if Casius still lived in the living quarters?"

The mech seemed to start in surprise before saying, "Yes, he has been for the past three hundred stellar cycles."

Remcy smiled and said in a grateful tone, "Thank you." He then cut the line and made his way toward the CIA.

* * *

"Sari, are you sure that you want to do this?" Bumblebee asked the new femme again as they walked toward Slapjacks. "You have only ever had midgrade and I'm not sure how much high grade you will be able to take."

Sari laughed and shook her helm before saying, "You worry too much 'Bee. I'm going to be fine. You'll be there to stop me from taking too much and that's all we need."

Bumblebee sighed, seeing that arguing was pointless, and continued walking to Slapjacks. Sari was determined to do this and he should have known that she would be too stubborn to listen to him. When he said that she was old enough to have high grade, which he was now regretting, she had immediately asked him to take her to Slapjacks. Bumblebee had said no at first but he couldn't say no forever when Sari was begging him to go with her. The femme had even threated to go alone if he wouldn't take her and that was what had swayed him. He didn't want her getting overcharged and then some random mech taking her home. He was her friend and he was going to stay by her no matter what.

Finally arriving at Slapjacks, the two of them walked inside and sat at the bar. When Slapjack saw them, he smiled and walked up before saying, "Bumblebee, Sari; what bring you two here?"

Bumblebee pointed to Sari and said, "She wanted to try her first high grade and she dragged me along for the ride."

Slapjack nodded before saying, "I see. This is a big step." He then looked at Sari before saying, "Well, there are many different types of high grade. Since this is your first one, I'll let you pick. But, if you pick something strong, I'll only give you a small serving to see how you like it."

Sari nodded and Bumblebee could see Sari's excitement as she read through the menu. "Hmm, how about a Moilita?"

Bumblebee nodded in approval. Moilita's had about a third of the glass filled with oil that was enhanced with energon goodies and the rest was filled with high grade. Seemed like a lot hearing it at first but the glass itself was pretty small so the amount of high grade wasn't too bad.

When Slapjack walked back with the drink, he sat it down and Bumblebee paid the credits. He then watched as Sari took a sip. He was worried when she paused for a few nano-clicks but relaxed when she smiled and turned to him before saying, "This is pretty good." Bumblebee then widened his optics in surprise when Sari suddenly hiccupped.

When Sari let off another hiccup, Slapjack burst out into laughter and said, "Femme, I hope that you get some midgrade in your systems before you drink some high grade again."

Sari smiled in embarrassment and hiccupped again before saying, "Sounds like a good idea."

Bumblebee then joined in on the laughing when Sari again hiccupped. This was going to be a very interesting solar cycle.

* * *

Pitch smirked as they prepared their weapons. Thanks to his ability to hide in the shadows and find out information, he had found a few more bots that had decided to join them and now, including Sentinel, their numbers were up to around one hundred. If there numbers kept increasing, and adding skills that they desperately needed, then they would be ready to launch an assault on their enemies very soon.

But, he also knew that they were missing some key components. While they had many bots who knew how to hide in the shadows and attack any unsuspecting bots but he knew that they needed bots with actual skills and connections. At that moment, they were short of a capable medic and a scout who knows new Autobot skills. But, those were in very short supply and he needed to train the troops that they had accumulated.

Walking into the main room, Pitch was surprised to watch Sentinel walk in. He hadn't seen their inside bot in a while and said, "Sentinel, it's been a while. What have you been doing?"

Sentinel glanced around and said, "I see that you all have been recruiting since I was last here."

Burnsport then walked over and said, "Sentinel, been some time bot, where have you been?"

Pitch turned back to Sentinel and said, "That's the question that I asked."

Pitch was surprised to see Sentinel grin at that. Sentinel then said, "Well, you bots haven't been the only ones recruiting."

Now Pitch was really confused. Sentinel seemed very confident in himself and that meant that he had made some headway with his side of things. But, there was something else about Sentinel's approach that made him extremely curious.

"What do you mean Sentinel?" Thunderwave asked as he walked over. "We all have recorded the bots who we have recruited and none of the ones here were recruited by you."

Sentinel's smirk only irked Pitch's curiosity more and he could tell that Sentinel must have recruited some pretty special bots to have a smirk like that. Even though he didn't know who the plow had recruited, Pitch was feeling extremely confident that it would assist their goals in a major way.

"Yes Sentinel, please tell us who you have recruited. You have touched my curiosity." Pitch encouraged.

Sentinel let his smirk grow and he said, "As of right now, the Virons have seven members of the council on our side and I believe that they will be very, helpful in the future."

Pitch was extremely surprised at this revelation. Sentinel had somehow convinced over half of the council to join their group. This was even better than a scout or medic. Having Cybertronians actually inside all of the government decisions would help them get even closer to Pandimala then they would have if they didn't have them. He was impressed.

"Seven members of the council? That is incredible!" Burnsport stated.

Sentinel nodded and said, "Yes, they all have a strong dislike toward Pandimala and they have the same goals that we Virons do. They have also agreed to give us constant information about Pandimala's whereabouts at almost all times and who is with her at those times."

Pitch nodded and motioned for Sentinel and his main five to follow him as they went to inspect the new prospects. Now that they controlled over half of the council, Pitch knew that it was only a matter of time until they would destroy all bots that stood in their way.

* * *

As he approached the CIA, Remcy felt like he used to when he would come here for his job. It had been hundreds of stellar cycles since he had been in the building and he was excited to return. This had been his second home and he had even lived in the building's living quarters for many stellar cycles. That had been how he had met Casius. He had been wondering the halls when he passed an open door. From the open door, he heard a mech voice yell at him to come in. So, he did and the dark blue truck mech inside had told him to go and get him a cube of energon since his normal helper had just quit.

Remcy had gone to get it, he didn't want to upset the mech, and brought it back. He then asked why his last assistant had quit and the mech had said that Hornet, the bot, had gotten too bored with him and said that he wanted more excitement. The mech had then turned around and asked Remcy if he would take Hornet's place. Remcy had agreed as long as he would be excused for missions and training. Casius had been reasonable and had agreed so Remcy began working for Casius that day. While he worked, Casius would tell Remcy a bunch of information about Cybertron during the war. When Remcy had left with Pandimala, he had informed Casius of this and Casius had seemed saddened but understanding. He had said that he remembered leaving many a group to help a friend during the war. Remcy had then said goodbye and promised to see the mech again.

And now, now he was going to be able to keep that promise. Walking through the main doors, Remcy jumped when an alarm went off. A small orange and green car femme walked up with her optics looked on a data pad before saying, "Alright, what business do you have here?"

Remcy smiled because he recognized the femme right away. He had worked with her a few times when he had been here and she had been pretty fun to work with. She had been the more tactile of the two of them.

"Well Plume, I am here to see Casius, though it is nice to see you too." Remcy answered with a smirk.

Plume's optics quickly left her data pad and stared at him in surprise before she said, "Remcy it has been stellar cycles mech! How have you been?"

Remcy laughed and said, "Just fine Plume. Top intelligence agent for the Dragon Scouters and I'm bonded. How have you been?"

Plume smiled and said, "Happy for you Remcy. I've been put in charge of managing this place. You here to see Casius?"

Remcy nodded and said, "Yeah, I missed him."

Plume's smile waned slightly and Remcy had a feeling that something was bothering her. But, before he could ask, she said, "Well, Casius has become kind of a shut in since you left. He didn't take on another assistant and he had one of the engineers build him a contraption that he could use to have his energon transported to his room. He missed you a lot."

Remcy had been afraid that would happen. He and Casius had been really close. So, he pointed down the hallway that led to the living quarters and asked, "He still in his old quarters?"

Plume nodded and said, "Yep, and I hope that your visit will cheer him up. Primus knows how he is right now."

Remcy nodded before walking down the familiar hallway. He was now afraid at what he would find. When he finally arrived at his friends door, he hesitated before knocking.

"I already said that I don't want company so take your business elsewhere." A gruff voice on the other side answered. Remcy actually felt slightly relieved when he had heard the mech's voice. From the way it had sounded, he could tell that Casius was acting just like he used to. Whenever a bot would knock, Casius would always say the same line.

But, Remcy wasn't going to leave so he looked at the lock and smirked as he saw that Casius was still using his old tricks to keep the newer bots out. The locking technique that Casius used was so old that most bots didn't know how to even identify it. But, he did. Taking a few clicks to pick the lock, Remcy silently opened the door and inwardly sighed in relief.

Casius wasn't in a depressive state like he was expecting. The mech's walls were full of diagrams and photos and Remcy could tell that he was working on something.

"Plume, just because you have a master key does not mean you should be using it to get your way into my room." Casius said, his back facing Remcy as he studied a section of the wall diagram.

Remcy smirked and said, "Nice to see you too Casius."

Remcy hadn't known that Casius could turn around so fast and he was surprised when the old mech practically ran up to him and gave him a hug before saying, "Remcy my boy; I've missed you. How have you been?"

Remcy smiled and said, "I've been pretty good Cas. Haven't even been on Cybertron a stellar cycle and I have been loaded with work. Finally got a free day to come and visit. What are you working on?"

Casius motioned toward the wall and said, "Since you have been gone, I have been thinking about the past and I started to notice that I can't remember anything that happened since the end of the golden age when Megatron started his uprising. So, I have been finding every bit of information that I can. Haven't found out much though. What have you been working on lately?"

Remcy glanced around and shut Casius' door before saying, "This cannot leave this room. It is very sensitive and I don't want the council to know that I am working on it."

Casius smiled in excitement before saying, "Hmm, this sounds interesting. Yes, of course I won't be saying anything to anybot else that you say that I can't. But, you know that I will be working on this as well if it is connected to this."

Remcy nodded and said, "Well, as you know, I am a Dragon Scouter. While we were on Earth with the Autobots, I was allowed access to their mainframe."

Casius let out a laugh and said, "Not a smart idea with you."

Remcy smiled before continuing. "Well, I was digging around in the council's files and I found a folder called Project: IOE. I'm not sure what it is about but I have been trying to crack it ever since I found it. And that was before the war officially ended. All I know are some of the bots that are included."

Casius smirked and said, "Well, I guess I should help."

"How did I know that you would be talking about that project Rem."

Remcy turned to the door and smiled when he saw Whirlwind standing there.

"How did you get past my lock?" Casius asked her in surprise.

Whirlwind smiled and said, "Well, I am his bondmate and he did teach me a few tricks."

Casius turned to him then and said, "When were you going to tell me that you were bonded mech?"

Remcy gave a sheepish smile and said, "I was going to tell you eventually."

Casius made a motion with his servo before saying, "Well, start talking mech. I haven't got all solar cycle."

Remcy shook his helm before starting to tell Casius all that had happened to him since he had left Cybertron with Pandimala.

* * *

**Chaom: Where is Authoress?**

**Remcy: I don't know but we will find out.**

***All bots go looking***

* * *

**AN: Here is the next chapter. Sorry can't talk long cause I'm in a hurry. Please read and review. No flames. TTYL! *sprints like no other***


	15. The Fruit of Love

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Where did you run off to earlier Authoress?**

**Authoress: Well, I was late to take my brother somewhere but I wanted this to be uploaded.**

**Chaom: Aww, I actually almost felt like I was something more then a tool.**

**Authoress: Of course you aren't a tool. Now, let's see what is happening next.**

* * *

Ch. 15: The Fruit of Love

Chaom brought his helm up again as he listened to this solar cycles meeting. Pandimala wasn't there because she was at home with Malwing. Their little femme had started to prove to be a real servo full. She had become extremely adept at climbing and hiding and Pandimala had to keep a constant optic on Malwing. Primus only knew how much more difficult this would be when Malwing started to glide with her wings.

Chaom shuddered as he turned his attention back to the meeting. When Malwing started to glide, he knew that there would be chaos at the house.

"Chaom, do you have anything to add?" Dragstrip asked him with a knowing look.

Chaom slightly panicked in his processor because he hadn't been paying attention but didn't show it. He soon received a data packet from Megatron that told him everything that had been going on.

Smiling, he said, "Well, I believe that we should keep the colonies that we have set up in the outer galaxies to support trade and allow Cybertron to catch up to the news of the galaxies that we have been unable to keep up with due to the war."

Dragstrip's hint of a surprised expression made that meeting worth coming to. He would have to thank Megatron for keeping track of the meeting for him. He honestly couldn't care less about these fragging meetings and he wished that the Autobots had a main leader like both the Dragon Scouters and the Decepticons had. That way, these meetings could be more interesting and there wouldn't be as much zoning out on his part.

Dragstrip huffed before saying, "Well, we will take a thirty click break before coming back and discussing more about the boot camp and their choice after they graduate."

Chaom was surprised that Dragstrip was bringing that up again. They had all been kind of tense during that talk and he wasn't sure that he wanted to go through that again without Pandimala. She was better with this situation then he was.

Walking out of the room, he turned to Megatron and said, "Thanks for the save."

Megatron nodded and said, "It wasn't a problem Chaom. I know that having a sparkling at home can be really draining." He then looked at Dragstrip before saying, "I can't believe that he is bringing up the boot camp thing again. I had thought we had all agreed to wait until it was closer to their graduation time to even mess with it again, especially after you almost lunged at Roadkill."

Chaom nodded and said, "That is exactly why I am going to call Pandimala and ask her to come here for this meeting. Do you mind?"

Megatron shook his helm and said, "Go on ahead."

Chaom nodded before activating his comm. link and saying, "Pandimala, are you there dear?"

He heard a sigh of relief from the other side before saying, "Yes dear. Malwing just finally fell into recharge for her nap. Is there something you needed?"

"Yes, I need you to be here for this next meeting." Chaom asked.

He felt curiosity with a hint of worry come through her side of the bond as she asked, "Why, what has happened?"

Chaom sent reassuring feelings through the bond before saying, "Nothing yet. But, Dragstrip said that we are talking about the boot camp situation again next and I feel that you should be here for this to prevent any fights from breaking out, like they almost did last time."

He heard Pandimala sigh before saying, "Ok. I'll be there in a few clicks. Luckily, some of our friends are already here so they can watch Malwing for us."

Chaom now was curious so he asked, "Who is there?"

He felt a playful feeling come from Pandimala before she said, "Rumble, Frenzy, and Balm."

Chaom shook his helm and said, "Our femme is going to end up as a prankster at this rate. See you soon dear."

"Bye dear." Pandimala stated before turning off the link.

Chaom couldn't wait until Pandimala got there. They hadn't been to a meeting together in some time and it should prove to be interesting.

* * *

As soon as Pandimala walked out of the door, Rumble and Frenzy looked at each other in boredom. They had no idea what they were going to do now that Pandimala had left. The two of them had come with the doc lady to see Malwing before they were going to go have some fun out in the outskirts of town. Maybe do some fun experiments or something like that. But, when Chaom had called Pandimala and asked her to come to the meeting, Pandimala had asked the three of them to watch Malwing until she got back.

"He Rumble, what are we going to do now?" Frenzy asked.

Rumble shrugged his shoulders and said, "Don't know. Pandimala said that Malwing would wake up in about five clicks and that we could play with her when she woke up."

"Yes, and I don't want you two to cause any havoc. I'm going to catch up on some recharge so don't mess with me until I wake up. Ok?" Balm stated.

Frenzy and Rumble both nodded at the same time before saying, "We promise." Of course, Balm couldn't see their digits crossed behind their backs. They were too bored not to have some fun.

Balm then lay down on the couch and they both watched her fall into recharge. Once they were sure that she was out, Frenzy nudged Rumble and said, "So, what are we going to do?"

Rumble shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know. Let's look around and see if we find anything that will inspire us."

Frenzy shrugged and nodded before the two of them started to look around. Of course, they knew that the best place to look was usually the storage closet. Glancing inside, they turned on the light and were instantly grinning when they saw that the shelves were just lined with useful items for them to use for whatever it would be that they would come up with.

They both jumped a good two feet into the air when they heard a chirrup of confusion come from behind them. Turning though, they were relieved to see that it was Malwing. She must have crawled out of her crib. She was looking at the two of them with a curious look and, after a nano-click of staring at them, she smiled and giggled before crawling to the left, which was their right, and sat next to a box before putting her servos against it. The two of them then walked up to the box and peered inside before smiling.

"She is going to be awesome when she gets older." Frenzy stated with a smirk.

Rumble nodded and said, "Definitely. Now, let's get what we need and get our entertainment set up."

It took the three of them, for Malwing helped as best as a sparkling could, a cycle to finish setting up. A couple of times, they had been afraid that Balm was going to wake up but that had not happened at all. Now, the three of them were hiding underneath the sofa waiting for Pandimala to walk through the door because she had said that both she and Chaom were on their way home.

The sound of jet engines cutting out had the three of them telling the other to be quiet. This would be the best thing ever. As soon as the door slid open, the fun began.

When the door had opened, a string had been cut. That string had been holding up a metal brick so that fell. The brick had also been attached to a wheel. The wheel spun around until a ball rolled down a path that they had made and stopped when it hit a button. The button caused a ball to shoot out of a makeshift cannon and hit a hammer that was hanging from the ceiling and made it fall and cause two separate piles of data pads to start toppling over, like human dominoes. One pile kept going straight toward a weight that was dangling a few inches in the air. The other pile soon split off into two piles and both piles headed in the same direction, which ended with weights of their own dangling a few inches off the ground. The three of them then watched as the weights were hit and the magic happened. The weights were attached to a can of paint each and each one fell onto the bot below them.

"TWINS!" Balm roared as she bolted up.

The three of them couldn't help but laugh when they saw Balm, salmon pink and fuming. Of course, seeing a white Pandimala and a neon pink Chaom had them all laughing.

They then crawled out and the three big bots glanced down at them. Rumble smiled innocently and asked, "What happened to you three? I thought you liked what color you were?"

Frenzy nodded and said just as innocently, "You could have asked Knockout to paint you all though. You missed some spots."

The twins flinched back a little when they received a glare from Balm but almost all the tension in the room left when Malwing was suddenly in fits of giggling and she wouldn't stop. Her laughing drew the two of them in before it dragged Pandimala and Chaom in as well. Balm tried to resist laughing at first, but Malwing's laughing soon had the medic laughing as well.

* * *

Elita sighed as she glanced around her room. For the past few solar cycles, she had been hanging out with Whirlwind, Beam, Balm, and the other Dragon Scouter femmes as well as Arcee when she was available. But, she also had been spending much, much time with Optimus. At first, the two of them had just started to go and hang out as friends. It stayed like that for much of the first few weeks.

Then, their relationship had started to grow deeper and, one solar cycle, Optimus had surprised her and asked her permission for him to court her. She had been so elated that she had said yes immediately. That of course had been about two months ago.

When she had awoken this solar cycle, Elita had been surprised when she had heard the doorbell go off. But, that surprise had turned to joy when she opened the door and saw a delivery mech standing there with a package. When she had taken the package inside, she had immediately opened it and had smiled when she saw that there was a card with her name on it. She opened the card and it had said that the crystal rose was for her and that he wanted her to meet him at Radar's restaurant at eleven o'clock at night. She had then carefully set the card to the side and gently undid the wrapping around the rose and smiled when she saw the yellow rose that had red swirls in it. It was of course from Optimus and it was beautiful.

It was now ten forty five and Elita had just finished getting her things together to go. Smiling to herself, she stepped outside and locked up before walking down the street. As she walked, she couldn't help but feel excited for this date. Of course, she felt this way before all of her dates with Optimus. He was always so courteous and kind that she loved being around him.

Finally arriving at Radar's, Elita walked inside. She didn't even make it two steps before one of the waiter bots walked up to her.

"Ah, you must be Elita-1. I am to lead you to the roof top tables. Please follow me." The waiter said.

Elita nodded before following the waiter to the elevator. As the elevator closed, Elita was surprised that Optimus had gone through all of this for their date. Normally, they had done simple things like walking through the gardens and talking or just hanging out at one of their houses.

As the elevator stopped, Elita was feeling anxious. She wondered what they were going to talk about. Once the doors opened, Elita walked out and glanced around. At first, she couldn't see Optimus but then the waiter pointed to a closed off area by the edge of the roof. Of course, Optimus wanted them to have a private dinner. Elita nodded as thanks toward the waiter before making her way over to Optimus, smiling and thinking about how lucky of a femme she was in getting a mech like Optimus.

* * *

Optimus was extremely nervous. He had worked extremely hard to make sure that this night would go smoothly. This night's success was hanging on a thin line that he had done plenty of research. He had called all of the mechs, and femmes, that he knew that had gone through a night like this and they had all told him what they had done. Some of the advice was useful but some of it was too unique for him to use for this. He had to make it perfect but he also had to make sure that he didn't lose himself in the preparations.

Hearing pedesteps approaching, Optimus straightened up and smile when Elita entered the area that Optimus had asked to be closed off so the other bots weren't looking but they could still see the skyline.

"Hey Optimus." Elita greeted.

Optimus nodded and said, "Hey Elita."

She then sat down and glanced around before saying, "This is really nice." She then picked up the menu and asked, "So, you order yet?"

Optimus shook his helm and said, "Not yet. I was waiting until you got here to order. So, what do you want?"

Elita seemed to study the menu for a few clicks before saying, "Hmm, how about a high grade with platinum and silver flakes?"

Optimus nodded and turned on his comm. link and contacted Radar before saying, "Hey Radar, can you have them bring us two high grades with platinum and silver flakes?"

"Sure thing Optimus." Radar said before cutting the line.

As they waited for their drinks, Elita asked, "Optimus, have you heard anything about what has been going on in the council lately?"

Optimus shook his helm and said, "Nothing much. Ultra Magnus says that most of the conversation is boring but there was one topic that he said was pretty interesting."

Elita raised an optic ridge at that and asked, "What was it about?"

"It was about the boot camp cadets and their decision after they graduated." Optimus said. "Pandimala, Ultra Magnus, and Megatron all agree that they should be given the choice as to which team they want to be on and about half of the council agrees with them. But, the other half,"

"Are being imbeciles and are saying that since they started training as Autobots that they should have to be Autobots?" Elita finished.

Optimus nodded and said, "Exactly. Pandimala has to keep getting sparkling sitters for Malwing because Dragstrip keeps bringing it up in the meetings and she needs to be there for that talk."

The two of them then went quiet as their energon arrived. As he sipped it, Optimus knew that the time was coming up to fulfill the plans that he had made tonight. But, he was nervous. What would her answer be? What if this was all for nothing? What if he was taking things too quickly in their relationship?

Once he finished his energon though, Optimus knew that it had to be now or never. So, standing up, he said, "Elita, there was a special reason that we had our date here tonight."

Elita seemed worried and asked, "Why is that Optimus?"

Optimus held back a bought of nervousness that tried to beat him and stepped in front of Elita. Pausing only a click in nervousness, he said, "Elita, I've known you for countless stellar cycles and I know that I have made many mistakes. I look back in my existence and realize that there was one thing that I could not live without. I tried but it only ate me apart. When I found out that you were online, I tried to earn your forgiveness and I was ready to help you return to your normal self. I realized that I could never live without you in my life again."

Elita looked surprised and Optimus gulped silently before taking a knee in front of Elita and saying, "Elita-1, you have been my closest companion and I would be honored if you would become my bondmate."

The time seemed to take forever to pass for Optimus. But, a few nano-clicks after he asked, Elita smiled and nodded before saying, "Yes, oh yes I'll bond with you Optimus!"

Optimus smiled and stood up before bringing Elita closer to him and kissing her. As they kissed, Optimus felt like the luckiest mech in existence.

* * *

**Balm: Yes! Elita is finally going to bond with Optimus!**

**Elita: Finally? How did you know?**

**Stormfire: It was obvious Elita. I think there were very few bots who didn't know that you two would end up bonded.**

**Tana: Yeah, the only question was how long it was going to take you two.**

**Optimus: You bots didn't start any betting pots on us bonding, did you?**

**Pandimala: Of course we didn't start any betting pots. But...**

**Chaom: As for joining in on one, well...**

**Authoress: Ok bots, you all owe me, Pandimala, Balm, and Alpha Trion some high grade. I am so glad that I hosted that.**

* * *

**AN: And here is the next exciting chapter of The End of the Path! Next chapter has some more fun in it. But, after that, things are going to start speeding up and it is going to be awesome! But, I can't say anything about it at this moment so please read and review. But no flames.**


	16. Airborne

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Chaom: Is anyone else being crept out by the Authoress lately?**

**Pandimala: Why?**

**Starscream: Well, I have even noticed it. She has been very, very nice lately and it is worrying me. **

**Ultra Magnus: Yes, that usually means she is planning something very, very, big.**

**Megatron: And it won't end well for any of us.**

* * *

Ch. 16: Airborne

Balm let out a sigh of relief when the latest casualty walked out of the med bay there in Iacon. She wasn't at the main branch though. Instead, she was working in the same one that she had worked in with Ratchet when she was his apprentice and the thirty stellar cycles afterwards. She had been glad when Joint had come to replace her at the make shift med center in Praxus. It had been a while since she had worked with Ratchet at this place and it brought back many memories; mainly good.

"Balm, how did your last checkup of Malwing go?" Ratchet asked her as he helped her clean up.

Balm smiled and said, "Well, it was really babysitting duty with Rumble and Frenzy and I ended up getting painted salmon pink."

Ratchet raised an optic ridge at that and said, "So they got the drop on you?"

Balm nodded and said, "I had a long shift before then at the Praxus med center and I crashed on the couch. Next thing I know, I'm waking up with paint splattered on me. Of course, I wasn't the only victim. Pandimala and Chaom got hit too. When I left, I told her that I would be coming by in about twenty solar cycles for Malwing's checkup."

Ratchet nodded and seemed to think about something before saying, "Speaking of checkups, I need to have a look at your systems. It has been almost thirty solar cycles since you had your last checkup and want to make sure that your servos are healing properly."

Balm wanted to protest but knew that it would be futile. Stellar cycles of training under Ratchet had taught her to not argue with the medic. So, she nodded before lying down on the med berth.

As Ratchet preformed the normal exam scans, Balm's thoughts drifted back to when she had received her servo injuries. She had been so scared of what was going to happen to her because of it. Luckily, Razor and Ratchet had taken very good care of getting the healing process started.

The beeping coming from the scanner brought Balm's attention back to Ratchet. He looked at the scanner before saying, "Seems as if everything is fine. Now, let's see your servos."

Balm nodded before letting Ratchet examine her servos. She flinched slightly as he started to go over them. They still stung a little when bots would first touch them but she could use them just fine.

"Are they still hurting Balm?" Ratchet asked.

Balm nodded and said, "Slightly. It only hurts on first contact. After that it is just fine."

Ratchet fiddled around with her servo a little more before saying, "It will be another thirty solar cycles, in my opinion, until the rest of that pain disappears."

Balm nodded and her continued to lie on the berth as Ratchet began to put away his medical supplies. Thinking about the pain made her think about when Spittor had first attacked her. Even though the physical pains had started to go away, she would still have the occasional nightmare about the mech. Those nightmares had increased in both frequency and ferocity ever since she and Pandimala were attacked by him and the Virons. That mech had been so close to hurting 'Mala that she hadn't been able to think straight. She knew that Spittor's slime would have damaged the sparkling, Malwing, and possibly offline both her and her carrier.

"Balm, are you alright?" Ratchet asked, standing above her.

Balm sat up and nodded her helm before saying, "Yeah Ratch, just have a few things on my processor." She then stood up and said, "I'm going to go and give Storm a call. Be back in a few clicks." She then walked out of the door. AS she walked down the hall, Balm shuddered at her previous thoughts. She would make sure that Spittor would pay, dearly.

* * *

Zarron sighed as he walked toward the scout training facility. Bumblebee had asked for the solar cycle off to help Sari continue to adjust and he had agreed. But, that had also left him with little to do. So, he had called Hound and Mirage and had asked them if they wanted to do some training at the facility, like old times. They had both agreed and had said that they would meet up in a cycle. It had almost been that cycle so Zarron had left early to make sure that he was on time.

When he finally arrived at the facility, he walked inside and smirked when he saw that Mirage and Hound were already there. "I see that you bots have gotten better at being on time." Zarron commented.

Hound chuckled and said, "Well, without you there to wake us up, we had to start getting up on our own."

Zarron let out a chuckle and said, "I guess my leaving did have a positive effect on you bots. But, enough about our habits. Let's get to the training room and see if we can still do the last level." The last level was legend around the facility. Before their team arrived, no bot team had ever been able to beat it. The testers thought that their team of three was crazy for having chosen it for their final. But, Zarron had reasoned to them that if they didn't push themselves, they wouldn't be able to learn.

The instructors had agreed and had allowed them to use the final level. Since the viewing area was open during the exam, the instructors saw all and they had been extremely impressed with their skills in working together. A few solar cycles after they had taken their exam, one of the instructors had approached them and told them that a group of instructors had tried to do the level after watching them and had still not been able to do it.

As they three of them walked to the simulation room, Zarron asked, "So, has anybot beaten the last level besides us yet?"

Mirage laughed and shook his helm before saying, "Not yet. Though I heard that Helex had tried to challenge it and, from what I heard, he only lasted about two minutes."

The three of them laughed at that and stopped as they arrived at the training room. Since the light was not on, that meant that there was no bot in the room and that they could use it. So, Zarron typed in the level and the three of them entered.

"Hey, we have some watchers." Hound stated before the program started.

Zarron took a quick glance at the view area and let a low growl off when he saw Helex and Rook were standing there. They seemed to be talking to somebot on their comm. links but Zarron stored that information in the back of his helm as the program started up. When the landscape that represented the Sea of Rust appeared, the three of them nodded at each other before starting their fun.

* * *

Starscream smiled as he watched Malwing play. When Pandimala had told him that she had to go to another council meeting because Dragstrip brought up the boot camp graduation decision, again, Starscream had immediately offered to stay at her house and watch Malwing. Pandimala was confused and asked why he wasn't going to the meeting and he had told her that he had almost attacked Dragstrip at the last one and he wanted a cool off period before going back to the meetings. Pandimala agreed and so she had said that he could watch her.

A sound of frustration coming from Malwing had Starscream focusing back on the sparkling and he smiled when he saw that she was having trouble keeping the blocks, which Sari had given her, stacked. Of course, it was probably because she was trying to balance them on their edges.

Letting out a chuckle, Starscream sat on the ground in front of Malwing and said, "Do you need any help Malwing?"

Malwing stared at him and smiled before nodding and trying again to put the block on. When they fell, she grew a pouty face and picked up one of the blocks and stared at it.

"Here, how about trying it like this?" Starscream suggested before placing the flat part of the block on the flat part of the other block. As he was doing this, Starscream smirked when he saw that Malwing was staring at his servos in awe. Once the blocks were balanced, he looked back at her and said, "See, now you try."

Malwing nodded and picked up another block before placing it on top of the one that he had just placed in the exact same way. When the block stayed balanced, Malwing let out a squeal of excitement and clapped her servos together, which caused Starscream to smile and laugh with her.

"Good job Malwing!" Starscream stated to her encouragingly. She looked up at him and smiled before crawling over to him and holding her arms up. Starscream knew that meant that she wanted him to hold her so he happily obliged.

"My, you are getting pretty big Malwing. Who knows? You might start flying soon. And then you will be a servo full for your creators." Starscream said with a smile.

When she tilted her helm at him in confusion, Starscream chuckled and said, "Maybe when you are a little older." When his comm. link went off, Starscream answered, "This is Starscream."

"Hey Starscream, this is Pandimala. I just wanted to call and say that I am on my way back home." Pandimala said.

Starscream was confused because he had expected the meeting to last a lot longer than it had. "Why are you coming back so soon? Did something happen at the meeting? And why isn't Chaom coming with you?"

He heard Pandimala chuckle a little before saying, "Well, to answer the torrent of questions that you just barraged me with, I am coming home so early because something did happen at the meeting."

"What happened? Are you alright?" Starscream interrupted. He was worried that a fight had broken out.

"I'll tell you when you let me finish answering your questions." Pandimala laughed before saying, "Well there was a fight. But, believe it or not, neither my team nor yours were responsible, for once."

"Really, what happened?" Starscream questioned.

He heard Pandimala sigh before saying, "Well, Chaom and I were actually doing really well at keeping our composure when Dragstrip started to scream at us about how the troops should be Autobots and should not have a choice. He then let something slip about us being emotionally strung because of the stress with Malwing and how we weren't thinking in a right state of processor to be at the council meetings and make rational decisions, even though we have held this standpoint even before Malwing was born, or even before we found out about her, and Knockout and Breakdown lunged at him. Soon, the council was fighting with each other and it was only broken up when Ultra Magnus slammed that hammer of his down. Everyone then stopped and Chaom had to help take Knockout to the med bay there in Fortress Maximus, because he got a nasty hit in his helm, and he said that he was going to be staying there until the red council mech woke up. Of course, Dragstrip went to the med bay too. But he only had a scratch on his shoulder."

Starscream shook his helm and said, "When are you going to be back?"

"I can see home already. And I plan on taking Malwing for a flight back so we can see her sire." Pandimala answered.

"Oh, that should be fun." Starscream commented.

"Well, you will know since you are going to be coming with us." Pandimala stated.

"Really?" Starscream asked, excitedly.

Pandimala laughed and said, "Really. We are going to need an escort and since you are the closest, you will be it." She then closed the line.

As he heard a transformation sequence up front, Starscream smiled and stood up, Malwing still in his arms, before going out to meet the femme.

* * *

Pandimala smiled when she saw Starscream walk out with Malwing in his arms. Walking up to them, she asked, "How did she behave?"

Starscream smiled and said, "She was wonderful. You've raised her well 'Mala."

Pandimala smiled and gave an exaggerated bow before saying, "Why thank you Starscream. Ready to go?"

He nodded and so she transformed into her jet mode before saying, "Put Malwing inside. Balm already gave me the all clear to take her up." She had wanted to make sure that Malwing would be alright before taking her on her first flight.

Starscream again nodded and placed Malwing inside of Pandimala's open cockpit. As soon as the sparkling was strapped inside, Pandimala placed the seatbelts across Malwing's body. While she wanted her sparkling to enjoy this she also was not going to risk anything.

"Let's head up." Pandimala stated before starting her engines. As she started to gather speed, Pandimala was worried that she might scare Malwing. But, it was the exact opposite when she heard Malwing giggle in happiness. Once she was in the air, she glanced to the right and saw Starscream flying in his alt mode next to her.

"I see that Malwing is enjoying herself." Starscream commented.

Pandimala laughed and said, "Of course she is. She is a flyer after all. Plus, I am the one that is flying her so that makes it a little easier for her."

Pandimala and Starscream then flew in a comfortable silence. During that silence, Pandimala smiled to herself as her sparkling would giggle and tap at her windows when she saw something interesting. Also, Pandimala could see a smile on Malice's face that meant that she was having a blast. It was really nice to finally be able to carry her sparkling around a little without worrying much.

"Pandimala, how was the meeting, besides the fight?" Starscream asked.

Pandimala sighed and said, "Well, it was pretty much an argument from the beginning. I honestly don't understand why Dragstrip keeps bringing it up in the meetings. It is almost like he wants dissension in the alliance."

"Well, it may just be that he doesn't like you. You even told me that he was the one who freaked out when the council found out that your creators were Decepticons." Starscream reasoned.

Pandimala sighed. He was right, of course. Dragstrip had always hated her. Even before the incident that Starscream had just brought up. He was one of the main powering forces that had always tried to get her off track of being a Prime. She even had a suspicion that he had been the one that had sent in an application for her to become a Guardian.

When the three of them arrived at Fortress Maximus, Pandimala landed and waited for Starscream to transform. Once he had, Pandimala opened her cockpit and allowed Starscream to take Malwing out. Once Malwing was out, Pandimala transformed and took Malwing back before the three of them made their way inside.

After a few clicks of walking, Pandimala arrived at the med bay door and opened it before going inside, Starscream following. She smiled when she saw Chaom standing next to the berth that held a fully awake Knockout.

"How are you feeling Knockout?" Pandimala asked as she walked inside.

Knockout sat up and said, "As well as I can be. The docs say that I can go once they pass me for the next checkup, which, if my timing is right, is in about five clicks."

"Well, that's good. We just came over to see how you were doing and Malwing wanted to see her sire." Starscream stated.

In response to that, Malwing chirruped and then, surprisingly, held out her servos to Knockout. Pandimala laughed at that and said, "Seems she wants to see Knockout first." Pandimala then walked up to Knockout and said, "Treat her like your finish Knockout."

Knockout nodded and brought the little femme close to him before saying, "You here to make me feel better?"

Malwing smiled and snuggled closer to the mech before letting out a smile. Pandimala couldn't help but crack a smile of her own at that. Malwing knew just how to make a situation better.

* * *

**Pandimala: Ok, this has been really calm. I think I might go into hiding with Malwing.**

**Chaom: I don't think Authoress would attack Malwing dear.**

**Ultra Magnus: You never know Chaom. **

**Authoress: *walks in* Indeed, you will never, never know.**

**Remcy: Yep, definitely need to start running now.**

**Authoress: Oh, but then you won't figure out what Project: IOE is Remcy.**

**Remcy: Oh, fine I will stay.**

* * *

**AN: Well, here is the next chapter. I have to update another story that I am working on with Autobot Shadowstalker before I can get the next chapter up. But, next chapter will get the ball rolling for major future events. But, until I can update this, please read and review. But no flames.**


	17. Finding the Breadcrumbs

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Chaom: Pandimala, I believe that Authoress is planning something.**

**Pandimala: Dear, she is always planning something.**

**Ultra Magnus: Yes, and we know that we should all be running. So why aren't we?**

**Remcy: Well, as the saying goes, 'Curiosity killed the cat'.**

* * *

Ch. 17: Finding the Breadcrumbs

Remcy growled as a sign popped up yet again saying that he was still denied access to Project: IOE. It was really starting to infuriate him. The fragging file would always make him think that he was close but as soon as he went to test to see if what he did worked, the program would always deny him access. At the moment, he really wanted to just slag the fragging program and forget about it.

But, at the same time, he knew that he couldn't. He had to figure out what the council was hiding so deeply that even some of the older council members did not know. The project had to be something incredibly delicate and he wanted to figure out what it was.

"Did you try a reverse lock encryption?" Casius questioned.

Remcy had decided, to make Whirlwind happy, that he would continue to work on Project: IOE with Casius so he would be having some kind of bot interaction. And he was glad that he had because Casius had reminded him of different ways of cracking a code that he had forgotten about.

"Yeah, and it did the same blasted thing. I swear that this has to be one big secret for none of the techniques that we have tried to work." Remcy answered with a sigh.

Casius nodded and said, "Well, we just have to keep going. Staying confident that you will crack it is half of the battle."

Remcy nodded and then asked, "How is your project going?"

Casius sighed and said, "Unfortunately, nothing new. All the research that I have been doing seems to be leading me to dead ends."

Remcy nodded and then a thought came to him. "Hey Casius, I've been thinking. Your project has memories that were lost during the Golden age and my project has a list of council members from the same time era. Do you think…?"

"…That our projects could be connected? Yes, I do. It is too much of a coincidence with the timelines and the lack of information." Casius added in response.

"I figured as much. Frag this has got to be something major." Remcy muttered. He really wanted to crack this file now.

"Remcy," Casius started, "Do you have any other bots working on this?"

Remcy nodded and said, "Yeah, some of the council members that I trust are digging into their information and sources now to try and figure out what the frag is going on."

Casius raised an optic ridge at him before saying, "Do you think that it is wise to trust any members of the council with a project like this?"

Remcy nodded and said, "Yeah. Alpha Trion and Botanica have always been completely honest with me and I know, from my experience on Earth with them, that I can trust Breakdown, Knockout, and Chromia."

Casius nodded and said, "While I don't know the last three as well, I know that Alpha Trion and Botanica are good bots and if they and you trust the last three, then I do too."

Just then, the screen in Casius' room lit up and Remcy walked over before picking up the line. After a few nano-clicks, Remcy smiled when Alpha Trion's visage appeared on the screen.

"Remcy, glad I caught up with you. Whirlwind said that you would be there." Alpha Trion greeted before saying, "And Casius, how have you been?"

"Pretty good Alpha Trion. Why are you calling?" Casius greeted and then asked.

Alpha Trion then looked at Remcy before saying, "Well, I have been asking some of the bots that I knew back during the golden age what they remember of a Project: IOE and I think I may have found someone who might know something. Meet me at the senior care center as soon as you can. And Casius, this might have something to do with your project as well so you should come as well. See you bots soon." He then cut the line.

"How does he do that?" Casius asked.

Remcy shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know but I bet that this is going to help us a lot. Let's get going."

Casius nodded and so the two mechs made their way to the senior care center. As they walked, Remcy wondered what kind of information the informant could have.

* * *

Pandimala sighed with worry as she sat in her living room with Malwing. Not only was she worried about the council and how the recent proceedings had been less then helpful, but she was also worried about her team. Reports from his bondmate told Pandimala that Remcy was upset about something and he was starting to consume all of his time in his new project. Pandimala knew that Remcy was normally pretty good about dividing his time between his work and his friends and family but, from what Whirlwind had told her, Remcy seemed to spend much of his time working on trying to crack the file that he had found on the Autobot database.

Glancing at Malwing, Pandimala smiled and said, "Can't carrier just get one day when she isn't stressed out?"

Malwing just tilted her helm at Pandimala before making a small whining noise. The small femme then motioned to the kitchen.

"Oh, I guess it's time to get you your energon, isn't it?" Pandimala asked rhetorically with a laugh before standing up and carrying Malwing to the kitchen. "Ok, let's see here. I should have a premade cube in here for you sweetspark. Just give carrier a click."

Pandimala then glanced through the cabinets and smiled when, about thirty nano-clicks later, she found a small energon cube full of sparkling formula. She then put on the suction cup on top of the cube and put it to Malwing's mouth before the little femme started to feed.

"You are going to grow up to be a strong femme, yes you will." Pandimala cooed at Malwing.

Once Malwing finished drinking, she glanced at Pandimala and tilted her helm before giggling a little. Pandimala smiled back and was about to say something when she heard pedesteps walk into the house. Shaking her helm, she called out, "Chaom, we are in here."

Sure enough, Chaom walked into the kitchen a click later, a smile on his face.

"How do you do that darling?" Chaom asked as he wrapped his arms around Pandimala's shoulders.

"It's a trick that every femme learns." Pandimala stated.

Chaom laughed and said, "Darn it. I was hoping to learn. Well, how are my femmes doing today?"

Pandimala smiled and said, "We are doing wonderful dear. How was your outing?"

Chaom sighed and said, "It was going great until we ran into Sentinel. The mech seemed so surprised when he ran into me and Megatron that he didn't even say a rude remark as he passed. He also seemed in a really big rush."

Pandimala frowned at that. Sentinel almost always said one kind of rude remark or another whenever he would pass by them. Maybe the mech was finally lightening up? Shrugging her shoulders, Pandimala said, "Well, let's not spend our time too much on him."

"Care-care."

Pandimala and Chaom glanced around when they heard the high femme voice suddenly sound. The voice seemed to echo around them and Pandimala wasn't sure where it had come from.

"What was that?" Chaom asked in shock.

Pandimala was just as surprised as he was and said, "I don't know. I can't seem to recognize the voice pattern."

Pandimala then looked down when she felt Malwing do her best to hug her before her little sparkling looked up at her with a large smile and said with a giggle, "Care-care."

Pandimala felt a wave of overwhelming joy travel through their bonds as both her and Chaom realized that Malwing had just said her first word. It was a joyful time and Pandimala was so happy that both she and Chaom were together for this.

"Chaom, she just said carrier!" Pandimala screeched in excitement.

Chaom laughed and said, "I guess she is her carrier's child."

Pandimala held Malwing close and leaned into Chaom before saying, "Yep, she most certainly is. But, I can tell right now that she is going to have her sire's attitude."

Chaom then raised an optic ridge and asked, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

Pandimala laughed and kissed her mate on the lips before saying, "A good thing darling." She then smiled softly as she glanced at Malwing and said, "Definitely a good thing."

* * *

Sentinel felt winded when he finally reached the Viron stronghold. Once he calmed himself, though, he walked inside and saw that some of the new recruits were already hard at training.

"Sentinel, what took you so long?"

Sentinel turned when he heard Pitch's voice and watched as both Pitch and Windbreaker walked up to him. "I was on my way when I accidentally ran into Megatron and Chaom on my way so I had to go the long way around."

Windbreaker allowed a worried look to appear on his faceplate before saying, "They don't suspect anything, do they?"

Sentinel shook his helm and said, "No, they are probably more surprised that I didn't say anything to them that was rude when I ran by. But, that won't be much surprise since I was in a hurry."

Pitch nodded and said, "How has your side of our plan been going?"

Sentinel sighed and said, "Not like we were hoping. Dragstrip has been giving it his best to get the alliance to start arguing about the boot camp situation but the only fighting that it has caused was in the council itself. He is going to try and keep going at it but I wouldn't bet my spark on it. The Dragon Scouters are really trying to keep this alliance together."

Pitch nodded and said, "I see. Well, it looks like we are going to have to take care of this from our side. Tell the others to keep up the diversions while we prepare on our side. Once our troops are ready, we will strike the alliance and take out both Pandimala and her sparkling. Then the alliance will fall."

Sentinel nodded and said, "Good. How has recruitment been coming since I last checked?"

Windbreaker smirked and said, "Well, we finally got a couple of scouts. And pretty good ones at that. They had some training at the training facility and they are fine additions to our team."

The three mechs then walked over to the southwest corner of the building and Sentinel smirked when he saw the two bots in question. Sentinel had heard of at least one of them and knew that the Virons now were going to stand a very good chance against their foe.

* * *

Remcy was so tempted to just sprint to the care center to meet with Alpha Trion. But, since Casius was with him, he had to walk slowly so the old mech could keep up. Even though he wasn't ready for the scrap heap by a long stretch of the imagination, he did have less speed in his systems then he used to.

"I wonder who Alpha Trion's source is." Remcy asked.

Casius shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know. But, Alpha Trion has been around for a long, long time so he could have a plethora of informants that even I haven't heard of. You were smart in enlisting his help."

Remcy nodded and said, "I figured that he would be able to get me more access into the file since he was a part of the council."

The two mechs then quieted down as they arrived at the care facility. They knew that they had to wait until they got to Alpha Trion in the room that he had arranged for them so bots who they didn't want to know about their snooping wouldn't find out.

Once inside, the two mechs walked up to the main desk and Remcy asked, "Hello, I was wondering where Alpha Trion was? He asked us to meet with him here today."

The femme behind the desk looked at the two of them before turning around and digging through her files. Once she found what she was looking for, she turned back to them and said, "Alpha Trion is waiting for you in the main meeting room. Just follow that hallway there and then take a left. At the end there is an elevator. Once inside, press the top floor button and, once you get up there, go to the door at the end of the hall."

Remcy nodded and said, "Thank you."

Casius and Remcy then followed the femme's instructions until they reached the elevator. Once they were inside, Remcy hit to button for the top floor and the two mechs watched as the doors closed.

"Oh, I can't wait to get out of here." Casius commented as they started to move up.

Remcy raised an optic ridge in confusion at that before asking, "Why? I thought you wanted to get the information?"

Casius nodded and said, "I do. But the bots here have been trying to get me to come and live here permanently since you left. They have been driving me insane."

Remcy let out a laugh as they got to the top floor and said, "Well, you can tell them that I am back now and that I will be watching out for you."

Casius nodded and said, "I'll take you up on that Rem."

Remcy smirked and shook his helm before the doors opened and the two of them made their way down the hall.

When they arrived at the door, Remcy knocked lightly on the door three times and waited for the response.

"Who's there?" Remcy heard Alpha Trion's voice ask.

Remcy and Alpha Trion had set up a code so that they would know when it was really each other or if someone was impersonating them so Remcy answered, "I am a poor stranger seeking rest and comfort from these tiring days."

Casius gave him a knowing, but surprised, look at that but Remcy knew that now wasn't the time to explain it. A few nano-clicks after he said his line, the door unlocked and it opened to reveal Alpha Trion.

"Glad you could make it Remcy. This isn't much but I found this information to be slightly confusing." Alpha Trion greeted.

Remcy nodded and followed Alpha Trion inside. Sitting at a table was an old, green truck mech. In his servo was a cygar that he seemed to have abandoned in favor of staring at them.

Alpha Trion the motioned to the green truck mech before saying, "Kup, this is Remcy and Casius and they are the bots who are investigating the strange things popping up concerning the council. Tell them what you told me."

The green truck mech nodded and Remcy felt like he was being dissected by the old mech's optics before Kup said, "Now, I don't remember much about the golden age, but there was something that seemed odd that I remembered when Alpha Trion asked me."

"What was it?" Remcy pressed.

"I remember the council calling for all Cybertronians, both off and on Cybertron, to receive a vaccination for Cybonic Plague. The weird thing was, I remember a report from earlier in the golden age saying that Cybonic Plague had been eliminated. But, nobot questioned the council at the time and we all agreed to go through with it." Kup answered.

Remcy stared at shock at Kup. This was only supporting his theory that there was some major cover up and now Remcy was going to make sure that he found out what was being hidden in that file.

* * *

**Authoress: Ok, I've been avoiding this area so I won't spill the beans on Project: IOE. But Malwing was just too cute!**

**Pandimala: Yeah, she said 'carrier'! That was awesome.**

**Megatron: Yes, and now we just need her to say Megatron and then it will be perfection.**

**Authoress: Be careful Megatron, Malwing could start calling you Megsy, Megs, or any of the other nicknames that you don't like.**

**Megatron: *speechless***

**Starscream: Hah! She showed you!**

**Authoress: *facepalms* That includes you too 'Screamer.**

**Starscream: THE NAME IS NOT 'SCREAMER!**

* * *

**AN: Ok, well here is the beginning of us finding out about Project: IOE! The upcoming chapters are going to have a lot of action so stay tuned. Also...YEAH! Malwing said her first word! I wonder what her role is going to be? Hmm... Well, until next time, please read and review. But no flames!**


	18. The Past Decrypted

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Remcy: Authoress, I want to find out about Project: IOE!**

**Authoress: And you will. Just be patient bot.**

**Whirlwind: You're kidding, right Authoress? Patience has never been in Remcy's vocabulary.**

**Remcy: HEY!**

* * *

Ch. 18: The Past Decrypted

Remcy groaned as, yet again, he was denied access to the file. After their visit with Kup, Remcy had taken Casius back to the CIA before heading home himself. Once he got home, he had spent the rest of yesterday relaxing with Whirlwind. While they were relaxing, Remcy asked if he could stay at home for the morning the next day, which was now today, and use his systems to try and crack the file some more. Whirlwind had been against it at first but he promised her that he would go the CIA to be with Casius if he hadn't cracked it by mid solar cycle. She had then agreed and then she had said that she was going to be sparkling sitting Malwing for Pandimala while their leader was at, yet again, another meeting about the boot camp situation.

"Hmm, maybe I could try a reverse loop lock decryption." Remcy muttered to himself before typing away at his computer.

A few clicks in and he thought that he might have had it, but, when he was almost through, the program slammed shut on him and took him back to the beginning, again.

"ARGH! Why won't this stupid thing fragging unlock for me? I've tried almost every trick in the books, and off the books, to get in and the stupid thing won't work! This had better not be some recipe for the best energon goodies because if it is, I am so going to be yelling at the council for putting that much encryption up for a stupid recipe.

He was about to get up and head out to the CIA, since he hadn't been able to think of anything, when his comm. link went off. "This is Remcy." Remcy greeted whoever was on the other side.

"Hey Remcy, this is Chaom." Remcy heard Chaom say from the other side.

"What can I do for you mech?" Remcy asked, since he was sure that Chaom needed some info.

He heard a sigh from the other side and said, "I need you to get me out of this meeting." Ok, maybe not info. "I feel like I am going to strangle Dragstrip at any click."

Remcy sighed and said, "Chaom, I can't get you out of that meeting, no matter how much I want to help. How are you even calling me during the meeting?"

"Come on, there has to be some kind of backdoor way to get in. Oh, and we are on break." Chaom stated. "Please get me out!"

But, something that Chaom had said had stirred Remcy's thoughts. "Hang on, repeat what you just said."

"What, about us being on break or getting me out of here?" Chaom asked, confusion heavy in his voice.

"No, the other thing." Remcy stated.

"Oh, about finding me a backdoor, why?" Chaom restated and then asked.

Remcy's thoughts were churning and he now had an idea. "Chaom, I hate to do this to you mech but I have to go now. Good luck at the meeting."

"Wait Rem…" Chaom started before Remcy cut the line.

Typing furiously at the keyboard, Remcy started the reverse loop lock decryption process but, when he got to the part that had blocked him, he immediately switched to a backdoor delay technique that he had learned on his first day of training. A ding on the computer had him opening his optics widely. He watched as the file opened and he read what appeared on the screen.

When he finished though, Remcy's faceplate was full of anger. But, he stayed calm as he called Balm and he waited for her to pick up.

"What can I do for you Rem?" Balm asked.

"Balm, I need you to whip something up for me." Remcy stated, anger biting into his voice.

"Remcy, what is wrong?" Balm asked. "Did you crack that file?"

"Yes, and what I found isn't very nice. Here is what I found." Remcy stated before telling her what he found.

* * *

Balm sighed as she tinkered away. Ultra Magnus. Megatron, and Pandimala had called in about three cycles ago and asked if she could go down to the abandoned med station near the planet' core to see if she could evaluate the damage and take a report about what was needed to repair it. Since more bots were returning to Cybertron, the leaders had discussed and agreed upon opening up the planets inner layers and creating settlements for the bots. Since the other medics that they knew were busy, the three leaders had asked Balm if she could go down and do the assessment. She had agreed.

It had taken her about a cycle to get down to the depth of the planet's core. She was down there because the med center there would be used only in the most extreme cases and if all other med centers were full. When she had arrived, she was surprised that there was very little damage and that the real hassle would be cleaning up the scraps and sediment that had settled on the equipment.

When she had received Remcy's call, she had been surprised that he had cracked the file. But, that surprise had soon turned to anger when he had told her what was in the file. How could the council abuse their power like that? Balm had fully agreed to build the machine that Remcy requested and was pretty confident that she could finish building it in about three cycles, though now that she was working on the project, it was taking a little longer then the projected three cycles.

Of course, that time limit hadn't been helped when she had received a call from Stormfire who was wondering when she would be back on the surface. She had informed him that she was working on a project for Remcy and that she would tell him about it later.

"Scrap!" Balm stated when a bolt rolled out of her grasp.

When she grabbed the bolt, Balm realized what she would have to do to finish the machine. Once she screwed the bolt in, Balm ran to one of the drawers that she had investigated earlier and pulled out an energy condenser. Before her revelation, she had been worried that the energy would disperse too quickly and wouldn't be able to continue going out to fix what the council had done.

Once it was finished, Balm took out three mist guns, which looked kind of like and acted like Earth water guns, and inserted the pulse's energy inside of them. To make sure that the pulse frequency worked, Remcy would be bringing down three bots that had been affected to make sure that it worked before Remcy confronted the council.

Speaking of Remcy, Balm activated her comm. link and said, "Hey Remcy, you there."

The response was immediate. "Yeah, I'm here. What is it?" Remcy stated and then asked.

"The pulse is ready to be tested. Bring the bots on down. I hope to Primus that this works." Balm stated.

"Ok, we will be on our way." Remcy stated before cutting the line.

As she waited, Balm couldn't help but feel anger toward the council. They would regret hiding the information from them, especially when Remcy finished with them.

* * *

"Hey Ratchet, can you get me another bolt? This monitor is leaning and I want to fix it before it falls and breaks." Joint asked.

Ratchet nodded and walked over to his store cabinet before looking for said bolt. Joint had stopped by to see him and, of course, she had seen something that needed fixed and had started work right away. He had tried to stop her but she had given him her perfected glare that said, 'if you stop me I will put a fragging hole through your helm and still fix it' so he had allowed her to work. Now she was fixing his main communication monitor.

"Found it." Ratchet exclaimed as he dug the elusive bolt out of the cabinet. As he walked over, he noticed her raised optic ridge and asked, "What?"

She sighed and took the bolt before saying, "After I finish with this, I am going to be sorting your equipment so you can find things."

Ratchet frowned and said, "Fine, but don't expect me to keep it organized. I am too busy to worry about problems like that."

Joint let out a laugh and said, "I know Ratchet. But it will make me feel better that I at least tried to make this place a little more accessible to bots who don't know your organizing style."

Ratchet sighed and said, "Thank you for helping me Joint. What news has there been lately?"

Joint shrugged her shoulders and said, "Not much. Dragstrip keeps bringing up the boot camp issue and it is bothering the crap out of all three leaders. Pandimala wanted to be home with Malwing today but, of course, she had to go to the meeting." She then paused before saying, "Of course, the most interesting news is what I heard from Whirlwind."

Ratchet huffed when she paused again and said, "Don't mess with me femme. What did Whirlwind say?"

Joint smirked and said, "Well, she said that Remcy has been acting very strangely. He has been cooped up in either his room or the Cybertronian Intelligence Agency building trying to crack that file that he found. But, today, Whirlwind said that he suddenly bolted out of the house without saying where he was going or when he would be back."

Ratchet raised an optic ridge at that. Remcy was normally a bot who would tell if he had found something, and he would especially tell his bondmate if no one else. The fact that he had not told his mate yet had Ratchet worried that something was wrong with the young bot's systems.

Ratchet was about to say something when his comm. link went off. "Hang on Joint, I'm getting a call." He then answered his comm. link. "This is Ratchet. Who is this?"

"Hey Ratchet, it's Remcy." Ratchet heard Remcy say. Well, fate sure had a funny way of playing with them. They had just been talking about the young mech and now he was calling.

"What do you need Remcy?" Ratchet asked.

There was a pause on the other side of the line before Remcy said, "Don't tell another spark but I need you to meet me at the entrance to Cybertron's inner levels. You, Casius, Kup, and I are going to be going down to pretty much Cybertron's core and we are going to be seeing Balm."

Now Ratchet was worried. Remcy was acting very secretive and that was not like the intelligence bot that he had met. "What is going on Remcy?" Ratchet demanded.

He then heard a sigh on the other side before Remcy said, "Just get here and I'll explain on the way down." He then cut the line.

"What was that about?" Joint asked.

Ratchet shook his helm and answered as he walked toward the doors, "I don't know but I am going to find out. Can you watch the place while I am gone? I don't know how long I am going to be."

Joint nodded and said, "Sure, just tell me what is happening when you can."

Ratchet nodded before walking out of his med bay. He wanted answers and, by Primus, Remcy would be giving them to him.

* * *

"Remcy, you had better tell me why you dragged the three of us out here?" Casius demanded.

Remcy nodded and said, "And I will, as soon as Ratchet gets here and we start to head down." Remcy knew that he had been very vague with the two other mechs with him when he had told them. Casius had been agreeable but the nursing staff at the center had been another matter entirely. They had not wanted Kup to be taken off of the property but Remcy had used his status and closeness to all three leaders to finally convince the nurses to let him take Kup with him.

"You had better have a fragging great reason for making me miss my news youngling." Kup stated as he stood there with them.

Remcy's smirk was a hollow one as he said, "Don't worry, it is definitely worth the wait."

Before anything else could be said, they all watched as Ratchet drove up in his vehicle mode before transforming in front of them. The four of them then entered the lift and they started to make their way down. Luckily, this was the fastest lift and would have the four bots on Balm's level in a few clicks.

"Ok, Remcy, tell us why you had us come here." Ratchet demanded.

Remcy sighed and brought the three mechs close to him before whispering what he had found. After he finished talking, the three mechs that he had brought with stared at him in shock.

"So you finally cracked it? And the council back then did that?" Casius asked in shock.

Remcy nodded and said, "Yes and the reason we are coming down here is so that Balm can reverse their deed."

The three mechs nodded in understanding and, once they arrived on the last floor, they followed Remcy to the room that Balm was in. Once they arrived, Remcy was surprised that Balm already had three glass chambers set up and was sitting in a chair, staring.

"You ready Balm?" Remcy asked.

Balm nodded and said, "Let's test this thing." She then motioned to the three chambers and said, "If each of you mechs would hop into one, we can begin."

The three mechs nodded and, one by one, they each stepped into the chambers. Once they were ready, Balm walked up and said, "Now, I am going to be shooting a pulse that will be reversing the programming. We don't know if it will hurt or not but you will feel your chassis change, hopefully."

The three mechs nodded and Ratchet said, "We trust you Balm. Just get this done with so we know if it will work."

Balm nodded before activating pointing each gun into the chambers and firing the pulse, one by one. The shifting of metal could be heard and, after a few clicks, the change was complete and the three mechs walked out.

"Come on mechs," Remcy stated and the three other mechs nodded.

"Where are you going Rem?" Balm asked.

"We are going to have a _**talk**_ with the council." Remcy stated with a hint of anger before the four of them left.

* * *

**Remcy: When I get my servos on those bots I'll**

**Authoress: Patience Rem. You will get your chance.**

**Ratchet: I can't believe they did that!**

**Balm: I know to do that to bots is wrong on so many levels. Though, if I had to admit one thing, it would be that they had to be pretty intelligent to**

**Authoress: Balm stop! We don't want the audience to know yet!**

**Balm: Right. Well remember, I said that they were intelligent. I didn't say they knew how to use that intelligence very well.**

* * *

**AN: Well, here is another chapter of this story! I know I am being cruel to you all but I have to keep you in suspense about Project: IOE until next chapter. What good would it do if you found out before the council? It would take all the fun out of it. If you feel bad though, remember that Pandimala doesn't know either and she his Remcy's leader and Whirlwind doesn't know and she is his bondmate. Well, I'll let you all go do something else. Please read and review though. But no flames.**


	19. Secrets Unveiled

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Remcy: Oh, when I get my servos on Dragstrip I am going to make him wish that he was never onlined.**

**Authoress: Just be patient Remcy.**

**Ratchet: Why?**

**Authoress: *panicked* Don't let anybot see you Ratchet! *shoves Ratchet out quickly* Phew, that was close.**

**Ratchet: HEY LET ME IN THERE!**

* * *

Ch. 19: Secrets Unveiled

Chaom sighed as he and Pandimala listened to Dragstrip rant about the boot camp situation, again. That mech could not just shut up about the fragging thing until it was closer.

**Chaom dear, don't start getting upset now.** Pandimala told him over their bond.

Chaom sighed and said, **Sorry dear, it is just very hard to when he keeps making the same arguments every single solar cycle. We haven't been able to spend much time with Malwing because this fragging mech can't just shut up about this and wait until graduation is closer.**

**I know dear, but if we show him we are upset, we will be handing him a victory. A victory that we can't afford him to have because, if he wins this, then he will think that he will just have to keep bringing up a subject over and over to get us upset. **Pandimala stated while sending a loving pulse through their bond.

Chaom sighed and leaned back as he listened to Dragstrip finish his rant. The only reason that he knew that the mech was anywhere near to finishing was because there was a break session coming up and Dragstrip would not make the others miss that. Of course, Chaom was surprised that the mech still had vocals due to the fact that he had been talking nonstop for the past cycle.

**Hey 'Mala, do you want to play a game?** Chaom asked, bored with this.

He heard Pandimala sigh before she said, **Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt. What do you want to play?**

**I was thinking of playing I Spy. **Chaom responded with a smirk.

Pandimala nodded slightly and said, **Ok, I'll go first. I spy something blue.**

**Seriously 'Mala? I'm going to go with Ultra Magnus. **Chaom responded.

**Nope. **Pandimala stated with a smirk.

**Breakdown? **Chaom questioned, now curious about what she saw.

**Wrong again dear. **Pandimala stated with a smirk in her voice.

**Please tell me it is Chromia. **Chaom asked.

He heard a laugh come through Pandimala's side of the bond before she said, **Wrong again sweetspark. Give up yet?**

**Unfortunately, yes, I give up. What do you see? **Chaom asked with a sigh.

He felt a playful feeling come from Pandimala before she said, **Why, I see Dragstrip's optics boring into us like he knows that we are not paying attention.**

Chaom then glanced up and indeed saw Dragstrip glaring at them. In returned, Chaom smiled and said to 'Mala, **He looks so pissed. Can we make it worse?**

**No, though I wouldn't mind normally. But, if we want to get home at a decent hour we had better just let him cool off. **Pandimala stated.

Chaom sighed and said, **Fine, if only for you dear. Primus knows that Malwing is probably driving poor Zarron crazy.**

He heard Pandimala laugh before she said, **Well, luckily he is used to stressful situations, though I wouldn't be surprised if we came home to a different colored Zarron. Our little sparkling has a thing for paints.**

**Or for pranking. **Chaom added. The two of them then chuckled to themselves and Chaom felt like this day might go a little better.

* * *

Megatron smirked when he glanced at Pandimala and Chaom. He could tell right away that the two were not paying attention to Dragstrip in the slightest. By the way that they were acting, Megatron was guessing that they were playing some sort of guessing game.

"And I would like to bring up again that they started out as Autobot recruits before this alliance came to be." Dragstrip started on another tangent.

Megatron tapped his arm cannon in contemplation. If he blasted Dragstrip's helm off, none of them would ever have to listen to the annoying mech again. But, on the other servo, he would put the alliance in the smelting pit if he did take it off. While the first choice was tempting, Megatron knew that Pandimala and Chaom had worked too hard for this alliance for one frag helm who couldn't keep his vocals silent to make him ruing it.

When Dragstrip finally paused, Megatron stood up and said, "If I may, I would like to suggest we take a thirty click break so we can process this information and be ready to discuss it in more depth."

Dragstrip stared at him in shock while Alpha Trion stood up and said, "I would like to second the motion."

Dragstrip then snapped out of his shock and grumbled before saying, "All in favor of taking a thirty click break, raise your right servo." Ten servos shot into the air. "And against?" Seven servos rose up. Megatron heard Dragstrip sigh before the councilmech said, "Fine. We will have a thirty click break." Dragstrip then slammed the mallet down.

Megatron wasted no time in standing up and stretching. Sitting for four straight cycles could really cause the joints to go stiff.

After a particularly loud pop, Starscream said, "I think that was your loudest one this week."

"I think that you may be right. It makes me glad that he wasn't responsible for making the terms of our alliance." Megatron responded.

Starscream chuckled at that and added, "We would still be discussing it if it were up to him."

The two Decepticons then burst out into laughter. They really had dodged a bullet when Pandimala made the alliance between the three factions stick. After they calmed down, the two fliers left the room and walked up to Chaom and Pandimala. When he saw the worried look on Pandimala's faceplate, Megatron asked, "What is troubling you Pandimala?"

Pandimala sighed and said, "I just got off of the line with Whirlwind and she said that Remcy was acting very strange and he won't talk to her through the bond. She is really worried about him because he hasn't been in contact for the past three cycles. Frankly, I'm worried about him too."

The four of them then continued to talk. Time seemed to fly by too quickly because Dragstrip suddenly said, "Ok mechs, back into the room to discuss the boot camp situation some more."

The four of them groaned but walked back into the room. As he sat into his seat, Megatron saw that Dragstrip would be standing on the floor for this discussion. That meant that Pandimala and Chaom would not be able to zone out.

"Ok now that we are all settle, let's begin." Dragstrip said before stating, "As I was saying before, I believe,"

But, Dragstrip stopped when they all heard the sound of raised voices in the hall. As they grew closer, Megatron tried to identify the owner of the voice but was having problems due to the semi-soundproofing on the walls. Soon, the voices were in front of the door and they seemed to stop. All Megatron could now tell was that the voices belonged to mechs.

"What the frag is going on out there?" Roadkill demanded.

No answer was needed when the door was suddenly blown away and skittered across the floor. All the bots inside were now tense thanks to war habits that they all still had. Megatron felt his optics widen in surprise when Remcy walked in, the cannon that replaced his left arm smoking and a look of fury in his optics that made him want to go and hide.

"What do you think you are doing?" Dragstrip demanded of the intelligence mech.

Megatron jumped in surprise when Remcy's helm rapidly snapped so the mech's glare was boring into Dragstrip. None of them were prepared for Remcy sprinting up to the mech with clenched fist before drilling said fist right smack dab in the middle of Dragstrip's faceplate, sending the councilmech flying into the podium.

"Stand down Dragon Scouter and explain the meaning of this!" Dragstrip demanded once he reoriented himself.

Megatron could see that Remcy was holding himself back from launching at the council mech but Megatron could see the look of fury increase when Dragstrip spoke.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Remcy snarled at the mech with a roar.

Everyone stared in shock and Dragstrip demanded, "Explain yourself mech before we throw you into the stockades."

"You will do well to remember that Remcy is under my authority and I will decide what will be done with him." Pandimala stated, slowly rising.

Megatron turned to Remcy and was surprised when he saw the mech smirking. But, after studying, Megatron saw that it was an empty smirk and that Remcy's optics were daggers stabbing into Dragstrip.

* * *

Remcy glared at the mech before him with pure hatred. After what he had pulled with the Project, Remcy was surprised that he was holding himself back. Allowing an empty smirk to appear on his face, Remcy began to tell the tale.

"I am here to tell you a story Dragstrip, one that you will recognize once it starts to get interesting." Remcy then paused for effect before saying, "Back on Earth, before this alliance between the three factions but during the one between our two factions, I was exploring your database because we have that sharing information policy, and I found an interesting file. The file was heavily encrypted, firewalls upon firewalls protecting it, and I found myself absorbed in the file. Ever since that day, I have been working nonstop to find out just what could be so important to have that much protection. Solar cycle in and solar cycle out, I have slaved away at that thing, utilizing every technique that I have to try and get in. Frag, I even got advice and assistance from multiple sources, who I will not name, and, at times, I almost gave up. Then, in the early cycles of this solar cycle, I finally cracked the file called Project: IOE."

Dragstrip's optics widened in shock and he said, "You had no right to go snooping in that file and you are not permitted to share what you discovered."

"SHUT THE FRAG UP!" Remcy yelled at Dragstrip. That mech honestly thought that he had control over what he could and could not do? "You have no power over me. Pandimala does and I am sure that she wants to hear what I found in the file."

Remcy glanced at Pandimala as she nodded and said, "I very much do."

"I too wish to know. I do not like secrets and this sounds serious." Megatron added.

"And I wish to know as well. I am surprised that I was not told of the contents of this file before this." Ultra Magnus joined in.

"Plus, we know that you have scoured our databases and have come up empty." Starscream and Chaom said at the same time.

Dragstrip narrowed his optics at him but Remcy didn't give a scrap right now. "Please continue Remcy for I too am curious about the contents of this file." Alpha Trion encouraged.

Remcy nodded at his mentor and friend before saying, "Well, first I would like to say that having one kind of firewall embedded in another was clever. I wouldn't have thought of using a backdoor delay string near the end of my reverse loop lock if it wasn't for Chaom asking for a backdoor exit to get out of your boring meeting. Don't blame him in all honesty. But, anyways, let's first talk about what the 'IOE' in the project stands for. IOE: Immediate Organic Evacuation/Extermination."

"Wait, why is this file about organics?" Starscream questioned.

Remcy shook his helm and said, "Many, many stellar cycles ago, there were organics on Cybertron. This time that I am talking about is during the middle of the golden age."

"Wait, I was a young mech during that time and yet I have no recollection of organics on the planet during that time." Ultra Magnus stated.

Remcy nodded and said, "That was the point of the project. The organics were inspiring many of the bots in the society to think that maybe, they didn't need a council to run efficiently and that they didn't necessarily need a caste system. Many of the examples were of organic civilizations that had been around much, much longer then Cybertronians and still used a single leader government and were still living in prosperity. The council, afraid of what this could bring, proposed a way to get rid of the organics."

He then turned to Alpha Trion and said, "Some bots on the council disagreed with the proposition and said that, if the populace asked them to step down, that they would because they were for the people." He then returned his glare to Dragstrip and said, "Some, on the other hand, decided to go along with the project in secret. So, those bots convinced the council at the time that every bot needed to be vaccinated for Cybonic Plague, which they claimed had started to pop up in the far galaxies. Knowing the deadly effects of the Plague, the rest of the council agreed and every single Cybertronian, no matter their age or what planet they were on, got a vaccination and, at the end of the solar cycle, they all fell into a deep sleep. This sleep lasted for forty solar cycles."

"But I don't remember missing any significant amount of time during that time." Ultra Magnus stated.

Remcy nodded and said, "That is because the members of the council who were a part of this made sure that every date said that it was the next day, not forty days later. Now, during those forty days, the council started to hunt down every single organic on the planet, since they did not have colonies at the time and bots did not leave Cybertron because they felt like everything that they would ever want to know about came to Cybertron eventually. Some organics were able to escape, but many were slaughtered and burned. Thirty eight days after they began the hunt, the planet was clear of all organics."

"But how come we don't remember anything?" Alpha Trion questioned.

"That is because the vaccination, of course, was not for Cybonic Plague. Its effects caused bots to forget about the organics on Cybertron. But, it also caused an unforeseen side effect. The bots that were injected started to age more quickly than the ones that had not. Cybertronians were meant to last millions of stellar cycles before showing the slightest sign of age, and yet bots were now showing age within a few hundred stellar cycles. This of course worked in the council's favor because then the bots would die off and none would ever know about what they did. When the bots affected woke up, those council bots said that organics had come onto the planet during the night and had been deadly to the touch and they spread deadly lies about them. Because of that, Cybertron fears organics. And, until today, no one was the wiser." Remcy finished, still glaring at Dragstrip.

The room was deathly silent for a few clicks before Dragstrip let out a laugh and said, "What proof do we have that you didn't just make up the file to frame us? How do we know you aren't trying to make us look bad?"

Chaom let out a growl and Pandimala held him back as he tried to step forward. But, Remcy knew that there was no need for that so he said, "Chaom, hang on. Dragstrip here wants proof? Luckily I have proof for him. I found three bots that were affected. I contacted Balm when I had found out and asked her to create a pulse that would eradicate the effects of the programming of the council. It took a few cycles, but she finally came up with a pulse that would do the trick. I then took the three bots to the lowest level of Cybertron, where Balm was, and the three bots had the programming removed from them with very positive effects."

"Show us these bots and we will judge if they have had any significant," Dragstrip started to say.

But, he was immediately shut up when a red and white bot ran in with great speed and slammed their fist into Dragstrip's already dented faceplate. Remcy could see everybot was shocked about the identity of the bot.

"Ratchet? Is that you?" Ultra Magnus asked.

Remcy wasn't surprised that Ultra Magnus was shocked at Ratchet's appearance. His, what the humans called, pot belly, was gone and he now had a fit midsection that looked like a bot at the top of his game. The mech's faceplate was trimmed so it didn't look like the sagging one that Ultra Magnus had probably seen on his old friend the other day. The mech didn't slouch anymore and in general looked thousands of stellar cycles younger, almost as young as Chaom looked.

Knowing that the other two bots wanted in, Remcy said, "You two can come in now."

Remcy watched as all the optics in the room turned to the door and smirked when they widened in shock as the two bots walked in. Standing before them all was a younger Kup and Casius. Both looked just a little older then Chaom now and they both seemed fit as ever. Of course, Kup had his cygar in his mouth. The two mechs looked upset and Remcy didn't blame them in the slightest.

"Is that enough 'proof' for you Dragstrip?" Remcy demanded, hissing the councilmech's name.

The silence that followed his question to the mech was enough of an answer for him. Activating his comm. link, Remcy said, "Balm, are you ready?"

"Just give the word Rem." Balm stated.

"What are you talking about?" Dragstrip demanded.

Remcy let out a snarl. That mech was so close to getting his helm ripped off, slowly. "Well, I am not just healing these three and that is the end of it. Balm is, right now, at Cybertron's core and has a machine prepared to send the same pulse that healed these three out from Cybertron's core and out to every corner of every galaxy and it will eradicate the effects of your programming." Remcy growled.

"You can't do that!" Setback stated.

"Yes he can youngling and you had better learn when to keep your trap shut." Kup stated with a glare.

Setback glared right back at the mech but stayed silent. Once he was sure that there were not going to be anymore interruptions, Remcy said, "Ok Balm, let it rip."

A few clicks later, a shimmering blue, red, and green pulse traveled through the air and went through each bot. They all then watched as all bots effected in the room, which were Ultra Magnus, Botanica, for she was a sparkling at the time, Alpha Trion, Megatron, and Starscream, he was a sparkling at the time as well, and they all watched them get to the appropriate age appearance, which still left Alpha Trion looking somewhat old but not as much.

Once they were done shifting, a new, younger looking Ultra Magnus turned to Remcy and asked, "Remcy, which bots knew of this project?"

Remcy looked at the council and said, "Well, all of the bots are in this room. They were foolish enough to have a list of the bots, both offline and still online, who knew. They were Setback, Roadkill, Ransack, Crumplezone, Burnout, Backburner, and Dragstrip."

From the looks that the others were giving the seven, Remcy knew that justice was going to be done. He was just glad that he could bring it to them when they didn't even know that they needed.

* * *

Sentinel ran through the alleys of the warehouse district in a flurry. He had to get to the Viron base immediately. They would need to know about what had just happened. When the pulse had traveled out from Cybertron's surface, Sentinel had immediately contacted Dragstrip and asked the mech what was going on. When the situation was explained, Sentinel knew that the Virons would need to know.

Running up to the door of the base, Sentinel walked in and saw that all of the bots had worried looks.

"Sentinel, what is going on?" Pitch asked.

Sentinel told them what had transpired and then added, "Dragstrip says that they are in great disfavor with many in the populace and that they pretty much in hot oil with all three factions. He is not sure how much longer that he will be able to distract them."

Pitch nodded and, to Sentinel's surprise, smiled and said, "That is alright Sentinel. Our numbers are now in the thousands and we have the capability to now reveal ourselves to the world and show them that we will not stand for this. We will destroy everything and become rulers of this planet with all of them writhing beneath our pedes."

"Are you saying that it is time?" Sentinel asked, wanting to make sure that he heard right before he reported to the seven council members.

Pitch nodded and said, "Yes, in thirty solar cycles, we will strike and we will finally rid ourselves of Pandimala and that sparkling of hers. They will all fall, like turbo fox to the slaughter." He then turned to the gathered bots and said, "Thirty stellar cycles bots. Thirty few until we remind them all what true power is and when we crush their puny alliance. FOR THE VIRONS!"

"FOR THE VIRONS!" The cry rang out. The sound echoed and Sentinel knew that this would be it. Pandimala would finally fall and he would be there to see every last nano-click.

* * *

**Pandimala: I, well, I can believe that they did that but I still can't believe that it was done.**

**Chaom: I thought that it was a good change of pace from those boring meetings.**

**Remcy: It felt good too.**

**Authoress: Just wait until next chapter.**

* * *

**AN: Well, I don't have much to say, except for the fact that the project has been finally revealed. Well, I also have to say that next chapter is going to be exciting and I wouldn't miss it. Until then though, please read and review. But no flames.**


	20. Brutus

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Ok, something is going on.**

**Chaom: Why is that dear?**

**Pandimala: Because the title makes absolutely no sense.**

**Megatron: Of course, it could have another meaning.**

**Starscream: Megatron is right. Now, what Brutus' are famous in history?**

* * *

Ch. 20: Brutus

_30 Solar Cycles Later_

Pitch could feel the anticipation building up inside of his chassis as he waited for the perfect time to strike. All he and his strike force had to do was wait for Dragstrip's affirmative that they had Pandimala and her sparkling alone before they began their diversion. They were going to be taking down that fragging triple changer and that sparkling of hers as well.

Of course, he also couldn't wait to get a few swings in at the Guardians. They were the ones that he hated the most. They always seemed to get in the way of his plans and they always talked about those morals and slag. When he and his closer allies got through with the six Guardians, they were going to be empty shells of their former selves, groveling on the ground like the scrap filled glitches they truly were, and of course, Pitch was going to make sure that they all suffered greatly.

Spittor had said that he wanted that medic femme, Balm, to torture, even though she wasn't a Guardian. She had spited him in some way and he wanted revenge. Burnsport had already made a claim on Chem and Dragstrip completely understood that. Thunderwave and Firefog had made claims on those fragging twins, Hindsight and Foresight, and, from what he had heard; they were going to be having fun with their bondmates. Pitch knew that was where to hit them hardest. Windbreaker had requested the honor of personally torturing Hinge. His claim was that Hinge had humiliated him and had stopped him from taking out Blackbit so Pitch had agreed.

Of course, he had said right away that Blackbit and Tana were his. Thanks to Sentinel, Pitch had found out that Tana and Blackbit were bonded. As soon as he had learned that, Pitch had already begun to think about how he would use them to torture each other. Of course, he was going to have some fun with Tana but he had to make her suffer in front of him, so they both would crumble beneath him. Maybe he could have fun with them both? He wasn't very picky and it certainly would be a very tolling experience on the two of them.

"Pitch, we are in position." Pitch heard Burnsport report in.

"Good Burnsport. Wait until I tell you to attack there before going at it. We want to make sure that we take them completely by surprise." Pitch said before hanging up.

"Pitch, this is Firefog and Thunderwave. We contacted the possible new recruits but they say that they are having problems getting out to us. Should we go in and get them?" Firefog reported.

Pitch thought about that for a click. Even though there were security cameras and the sort in the building the new recruits were in, he also knew that they would be valuable allies to their cause. "Yes, go in but try to avoid the security cameras at all times. I don't want word of us getting out before we have a chance to initiate the plan."

He then cut the line. This plan was delicate but, if all went according to plan, this puny alliance that the Autobots, Decepticons, and Dragon Scouters had set up would disintegrate within a matter of cycles.

* * *

Megatron hummed in boredom. The council had called a meeting half a cycle ago to discuss something but only Alpha Trion, Chromia, Knockout, Botanica, and Breakdown. They had said that it was urgent and yet they were running so late. The only good thing about the meeting was that it was being held in Kaon so he didn't have to go far.

A giggle coming from next to him had him turning to Pandimala and Malwing. Chaom was half way around the planet checking on the rebuilding status of the smaller towns with Starscream, Jetfire, and Jetstorm. They had said that they would try to get back as soon as they could but they weren't sure how long that could be.

"I got your pedes Malwing." Pandimala laughed playfully at her sparkling as she played with the little one.

Megatron cracked a small smile at that. Pandimala was a really great carrier and she put so much effort into making sure that Malwing was happy.

He then watched as Malwing tapped her carrier and said, "Care, me want down."

Pandimala smiled and let out a laugh before saying, "Of course dear." She then set the little sparkling down and said sparkling started to explore the area.

Megatron then watched as the little sparkling crawled onto the middle of the presentation floor. She seemed to almost be looking for something. When she faced him, Megatron felt his spark rise when Malwing smiled at him before crawling over to him. She then tapped on his servo with one of her sharp digits before saying, "Up Meg!" She then smiled as she reached her arms up to him. She was the only one that he allowed to call him any nickname.

Megatron let out a deep laugh and picked up the little femme before saying, "Hello their Malwing. You want to fly?"

"Megatron don't think about it! Last time you 'flew' she ended up on the ceiling!" Pandimala shot down before he even got the sparkling's answer.

Of course, he couldn't blame her. The little femme had started to glide about seven solar cycles ago and Megatron, while he was visiting, had helped the little femme up onto his shoulders. She had sat there for a few clicks before, to their utter shock, she dropped off. They all went to catch her but they didn't have to as she glided up to the ceiling. Of course, the femme had gotten stuck on top of a shelf and they had spent twenty clicks getting Malwing down.

Sighing, Megatron said, "I guess we aren't flying Malwing." He then leaned closer to the little femme before saying, "Maybe when your carrier isn't around."

"I heard that Megatron!" Pandimala yelled at him.

"Uh-oh, Meg Meg got in trouble." Malwing stated in a knowing tone.

Megatron raised an optic ridge at her and asked, "I thought you were on my side Malwing? Maybe I should show you how I handle traitors." He then began to tickle her senselessly. Malwing in turn let out a ton of giggles as she squirmed to get away from the tickling terror. After about thirty nano-clicks, Megatron let up and stood up before handing Malwing back to Pandimala.

Before any of them could say a word, explosions were heard from the outside and the building shook slightly.

"What is going on out there?" Chromia asked.

Their answer came in the form of Sentinel, who ran in and said, "Virons attacking the main entrance. We are holding them off now but I am not sure how long they will hold. We need to vacate the council."

Alpha Trion nodded and they began to file out. Megatron turned to leave but he noticed that Pandimala was not following. "Pandimala, come with us."

Pandimala shook her helm and said, "No. Malwing and I would be too big of a target for them to pass up and they will come after us and whoever is with us. I will not risk the council. Malwing and I will wait in here until more escorts come."

Megatron was about to argue with her until Sentinel said, "I'll stay with them until more reinforcements come. The council needs you to get them to safety Megatron."

Megatron was surprised at the plow mech in front of him. The mech had shown nothing but disdain for Pandimala since the first nano-click that he had seen him but now that same mech was offering his spark to protect her. Maybe bots really could change?

Deciding that was the best option, Megatron turned to Pandimala and said, "Fine, but as soon as I get these council members to safety, I will come back and get you."

Pandimala nodded and so, with a heavy spark, Megatron turned and led Alpha Trion, Chromia, Botanica, Breakdown, and Knockout away from danger.

* * *

Pandimala paced back and forth as she waited for Megatron to return. She knew that she had insisted that she stay behind but she had not expected Sentinel to volunteer to stay behind with her. It was a little strange for the mech who had hated her so much to be helping her keep safe. Of course, she didn't totally trust him but she was ready to fight with him.

Pandimala jumped when the doors opened and took out one of her broadswords. But, she sighed in relief and put it away when she saw that it was just the seven council members who were late.

"How is the fighting outside?" Sentinel asked.

"We are doing ok. We should have pushed them back soon." Dragstrip reported.

Pandimala didn't know what it was, but something felt off about this whole situation so, when none of the eight bots were looking, she picked up Malwing and put her next to one of the ventilation shafts that took air to the lower levels of Kaon before opening it up and said, "Ok Malwing, it is time to play hidey seekey. Crawl through here and don't stop until you get out of the vents. When you get out, stay put until carrier comes to get you. Ok?"

Malwing tilted her helm until she suddenly nodded in excitement and smiled. Pandimala realized that Malwing must think that they were playing a game. She would allow her sparkling to think that.

Pandimala kissed the top of Malwing's helm and said, "I love you Malwing. Now, go on and hide."

Malwing nodded before starting to crawl through. Pandimala felt her spark ache a little at seeing her little femme crawl away but she also knew that it was for the best.

Turning her attention back to the other eight bots in the room, Pandimala was relieved to see that they had yet to notice what she had been doing and that was exactly how she wanted it kept.

"Pandimala, are you ready for a fight if one comes?" Sentinel asked.

Ok, he was really starting to creep her out now. He seemed to caring. But, she was curious as to his motives so she nodded and said, "Of course I am."

They all then got into battle ready stances when they heard an explosion, this one seemed to be closer than the last one and Pandimala was now really glad that she had sent Malwing down the vents. Even though the vents went everywhere in the underground, Pandimala felt safer with Malwing down there then up on the main surface where the Virons could get her. If anything were to ever happen to Malwing, Pandimala would hunt down the one, or ones, responsible and make them wish that they had never come online.

After the sound of another blast, Pandimala walked up to the door and said, her back facing the others in the room, "The fighting is getting closer, maybe we should," Pandimala started before she felt movement behind her and her instincts told her to dodge and, of course, she did.

Pandimala screeched in pain as she felt a blade pierce through her wing and rip down until it was pulled through. Pandimala hissed and took out her broadswords before stepping back and getting into a defensive position. She then glanced and saw that Sentinel's lance was now covered with fresh energon.

"Why Sentinel?" Pandimala questioned in shock.

Sentinel smirked, which caused Pandimala to glare, before saying, "Pandimala, you foolish femme. I got that fool Megatron to leave me alone with you and that glitched sparkling of yours easily and now you will be terminated. Why, well, that is easy enough to answer. We, the eight of us, are Virons."

Pandimala then felt her optics widen when the Autobot insignia's on the bots in front of her changed and the insignia's that looked like gryphons took their place. She was in deep slag. Realizing that her bond with Chaom was shut, Pandimala quickly opened it and allowed the pain and fear she was feeling travel to Chaom.

**Pandimala, what is happening? Are you and Malwing safe? **Chaom asked immediately.

Pandimala dodged a strike from Burnsport and deflected a few more blows before saying, **Chaom, we have been betrayed! Sentinel, Dragstrip, Burnout, Roadkill, Setback, Crumplezone, Ransack, and Backburner have betrayed us to the Virons! **She then let out another screech of pain as a well-placed dagger from Dragstrip made the gash on her wing grow larger.

**Pandimala! **She heard Chaom yell through the bond.

But, Pandimala could no longer use time to use the bond as she blocked attacks from the eight bots, who she now knew as Virons, and hoped two things. The first thing she hoped was that Malwing was safe.

The second was that Chaom would arrive in time to save her.

* * *

Chaom was in a panic. He was almost twenty clicks away from Kaon and Pandimala was injured and alone in a room full of bots who wanted her offline. Plus, Malwing was with her so that made his urgency even greater as he flew through the skies. That mech Sentinel had gone too far and Chaom was going to make sure that the plow's energon would cover his clawed servos.

Glancing back at his internal clock, and doing some calculations, Chaom realized that he still had fifteen minutes before he would get to Kaon. He wanted to go faster but he knew that he risked blowing out his engines if he did and, if that happened, it would take even longer to get to Pandimala.

Suddenly, Chaom realized what he could do. Getting on his comm. link, Chaom said, "Megatron come in. Are you there?" Chaom was in a panic and knew that Megatron could get to Pandimala before he could.

"What is it Chaom? What is wrong?" Megatron answered.

"It's Pandimala. Dragstrip, Burnout, Roadkill, Setback, Crumplezone, Ransack, Backburner, and Sentinel have betrayed us and are attacking Pandimala and Malwing!" Chaom told him quickly. He knew that the faster Megatron knew what was going on, the faster Pandimala and Malwing could get some help.

"WHAT? That no good fragging creation of a glitch! When I get my servos on him, I will send him to the deepest part of the pit!" Megatron yelled in frustration before saying, "I'll head back right away. I just got the rest of the council to their safe house." Chaom then heard Megatron talk to some bot in the background. Well, it was more arguing but it only lasted a click.

"Megatron, are you still there?" Chaom asked.

"Yeah, and Knockout will be coming with me since he has skills as a medic. The two of us are on our way back right now. ETA will be in about three clicks if we fly." Megatron said.

"Wait, what are you?" Chaom heard Knockout say in shock before that turned into a yell as he heard Megatron launch into the air. "Some warning next time would be appreciated!"

"I'll be there in about seven clicks. Get there as quickly as you can and help her. I'm going to contact the others so they can come and help. Those traitors will not get away with this." Chaom stated with a growl before disconnecting the line.

Opening up a different frequency, Chaom said, "Ultra Magnus are you there?"

"I'm here Chaom, what is wrong?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"Pandimala has been attacked and she is in need of help. She is in the main meeting room in Kaon." Chaom answered.

"I'll be there in about ten clicks." Ultra Magnus responded.

Chaom then shut off that link and opened another one before saying, "Remcy, you there mech?"

"Yeah and I am keeping the bulletins updated on the attack in Kaon. What is going on?" Remcy asked.

"The Virons have attacked and Pandimala is injured and still being attacked. I want you to send a news flash to every single Cybertronian with the traitors. They are Dragstrip, Burnout, Roadkill, Setback, Crumplezone, Ransack, Backburner, and Sentinel." Chaom stated. He wanted their faceplates on every screen so everybot on Cybertron would know just what they did.

"Those no good fraggers. Don't worry Chaom, I am putting them up now and I am sending it to our colonies with a request that they pass it on to every planet that they can. Those fraggers will not be able to show their faceplates anywhere without bots knowing what they did." Remcy reported.

"Ok, keep me posted if anything else pops up." Chaom said before cutting the line. He was now on his way to rescue Pandimala and Malwing and nothing was going to stop him. And if he ran into any of those traitors, he would rip their sparks out slowly.

* * *

**Authoress: Um, I am not responsible for anything that happens in these stories.**

**Ultra Magnus: Yes you are! You are writing this.**

**Authoress: I just write down what happens as it happens Ultra Magnus.**

**Starscream: But you make what happens happen! *looks around* Where did she go?**

**Authoress: *running like a bat out of hell***

* * *

**AN: MUHAHAHAHAH! Well, I'll leave you all on this but I am already working on the next chapter. It is going to be interesting and we will be getting a new/old character (new to Animated but a known Cybertronian). Hope you all liked. Please read and review. But no flames.**


	21. Dawn of War

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Chaom: Alright, where is Authoress? I am going to wring her fleshy little neck until every breath of life leaves her body. My Pandimala is getting hurt...AGAIN! And now my Malwing is in trouble as well! MY SPARKLING!**

**Ultra Magnus: Calm down Chaom, if you kill Authoress, then said human can't make Pandimala better.**

**Megatron: He is right Chaom. You need her to undo the work that she has done.**

**Chaom: *growls***

* * *

**AN: Oh, and picture Scavenger like his Armada self but with Animated animation.**

* * *

Ch. 21: Dawn of War

Pandimala was in a panic. She knew that she could only hold off these eight bots for a short amount of time before they would overwhelm her. So far, she had been careful not to get trapped in any corners and she tried to block their hits. But, because there were so many of them, they always seemed to get some sort of small hit in when they all attacked her. If they were attacking her individually, she would be able to hold them off no problem. But, since they always seemed to attack her in groups of two or more, she had to keep on her pedes and always be ready to dodge.

"Gah, hold still femme." Dragstrip growled as she dodged one of his swipes.

She tilted her helm at him in confusion before saying, "Um, I don't think so. My helm likes being on my chassis and my spark is a fan of beating thank you very much."

She then dodged a slash from Sentinel before the plow mech said, "Always ready with a comeback, aren't you Pandimala? Well, soon you won't be able to say those anymore."

Pandimala took a swipe at him with her sword before saying, "Sentinel, honestly I am surprised that you are doing this. The council, not so much since they are energon sucking vampires but you, I am surprised, especially since you always looked down on traitors."

Sentinel growled at her and said, "Well, you changed my view of the Autobots. They have become weak because of your influence. But, about you not thinking I would do this, you have to be kidding me? I have been trying to offline you since boot camp!"

At that admittance, Pandimala thought back to all the times that she had nearly been offlined. The first on the very first day of boot camp when she had been shot near the spark by the 'faulty' equipment and the others came from similar events when she had been training when the equipment had mysteriously 'malfunctioned'.

With a growl, Pandimala stepped forward and hissed, "You reconfigured the weapons to fire real rounds? You son of a glitch."

She was about to say more but Dragstrip suddenly came up and put a servo on Sentinel's shoulder before saying, "We need to leave. The advance warning scanner we placed has detected movement in the halls heading in this direction."

Sentinel nodded and said, "We will get you next time Pandimala." He then turned and the eight of them left.

Pandimala wanted to give chase but she winced from the wounds on her chassis, especially the wound on her wing. When the door opened, Pandimala glanced and saw Megatron run in. When he saw her, he ran up to her and said, "Pandimala, are you ok? Where is Malwing?"

Pandimala felt slight panic rise in her systems when she realized that she had no idea where Malwing went. Forcing back a grunt of pain, Pandimala said, "I'm fine for now. But, we need to go and find Malwing. On a bad feeling, I told Malwing to crawl through the vents and play hidey seekey and to wait for me to find her when she got to the bottom. We need to organize search teams to go find her and I will be going with."

She could see that Megatron wanted to argue but he seemed to forget it and said, "Fine, your bondmate is on his way. He should be here in five clicks."

Pandimala nodded and opened her bond before saying, **Chaom; go off your flight plan.**

**Pandimala, are you alright? Are Megatron and Ultra Magnus with you yet?**

**Megatron is with me now and I can hear Ultra Magnus running down the halls now. I sent Malwing through the ventilation shafts so she would be safe but now we need to find her.**

She heard Chaom sigh before he said, **Fine, but as soon as we do you are getting medical help.**

**Of course dear. **Pandimala said before turning to the doorway that Ultra Magnus was now walking in.

"Pandimala, are you ok? Is Malwing safe?" Ultra Magnus asked.

Pandimala nodded and said, "I'm fine for now but I sent Malwing through the ventilation shafts here in Iacon and I don't know where she ended up and I don't want those Virons getting to her before I can find her."

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "The Virons have retreated from Kaon to unknown places so I will ask my troops who I trust to go and look for Malwing."

Megatron nodded and said, "And I will do the same with mine." He then looked at her with a worried expression before saying, "Are you sure that you are alright Pandimala?"

Even though her wing was hurting like scrap, Pandimala nodded and said, "I will be fine once I find Malwing."

Megatron nodded and so the three leaders left in separate directions. As she made her way to the lower levels, Pandimala couldn't stop the worry that was creeping into her systems. She desperately hoped that her sparkling was safe and Primus had better get out of her way if she finds out that somebot hurt her little femme.

* * *

Sentinel ran out of Kaon like Unicron was on his aft. Megatron had come much more quickly than they had figured and so they hadn't had time to finish Pandimala off. Plus, the eight of them had seen the bulletin that had their faceplates on it that also marked them as traitors to the Autobots, which also made them an enemy of the Decepticons and the Dragon Scouters.

"Sentinel; come in. This is Pitch. What is your status?" Pitch asked over the comm. link.

Sentinel sighed before saying, "We were unable to complete the primary assault on Pandimala due to Megatron coming earlier than we expected."

"Frag it! Why is that femme so lucky?" Pitch cursed before sighing and saying, "Well, how about her sparkling?"

"Pandimala had somehow gotten the sparkling out of the room. But, we sent separate units to search for the sparkling. We will hear about it when it happens." Sentinel reported. While they had been attacking Pandimala, he had looked for the seekerling but had not been able to find the sparkling, even though he had seen her when he had entered the room.

"Ok then, get back to Iacon so we can initiate the next part of our plan. We will need a good deal amount of bots to pull off what we have planned." Pitch stated before cutting the line.

Sentinel frowned and turned to Dragstrip before asking, "Did you see the sparkling when you came in?" He hoped that the councilmech had seen something that he hadn't.

The councilmech nodded and said, "Yes, Pandimala was still holding the sparkling when we came in. She must have hid the femme when we weren't looking."

Sentinel thought about the room that they had been in and said, "But, there were no hiding places in there. The only place where she could have hid the femme was…" Sentinel then realized what Pandimala had did so he got onto the Viron frequency and said, "All units still in Kaon, look at every ventilation shaft exit in the lower levels to locate the sparkling and to terminate it. Report back to me once you find something."

"That makes sense. Pandimala might have sensed something was off and hidden the femme in the systems." Burnsport stated.

"Yes, and the little sparkling won't stay in the systems forever so she will have to come out." Backburner added.

Dragstrip nodded and said, "Plus, from the plans of the city, we know that most of those exits are nowhere near other bots. The little sparkling will be helpless when we find her first."

Sentinel nodded and they all continued to run. He knew that, as soon as somebot found Malwing, Pandimala would know about it and would send other bots searching. And, since they had very accomplished fliers on their side, Sentinel knew that the eight of them were scrapped when those fliers started to search for them if they were still in the open like they were now. Of course, the next part of their plans would be a decisive blow to the three other factions.

* * *

The lower level bar was just as nice as most of the ones on the upper level. Stutterstep, the barkeeper, glanced around and felt like he had accomplished so much. When he had inherited the bar when they were allowed back onto Cybertron, it was a mess. But, when he looked into the history of the bar, he was impressed with how popular it was. Cybertronians used to come down if they wanted a relaxing drink and the bar was usually kept up.

He was now trying to bring the bar back to its previous state. The first thing that he made sure that he had was a good pair of bots to act as bouncers so he could remove overly drunk and obnoxious bots. So far, he had kept that and he already had a few bots who he counted as regulars, one sitting at the bar now.

"Hey Stutter, can you get me a plain midgrade?" The same regular asked. Stutter nodded and started to pour the mech's drink. As he did, he remembered when the cloaked mech first came into his bar. The bot had walked up and asked for the same drink he was ordering now. Stutter had then asked how the bot had heard of his bar and he was surprised when the mech had said that he was a customer from before the war and he wanted to see if the new management was just as good as the old one. Since he kept coming back, Stutter assumed that he was doing a good job.

"Here you go." Stutter said while handing the bot his midgrade.

The bot nodded and started to sip his midgrade. Stutter glanced around at the other six bots that were currently in his bar, who were at the bar, and realized that he had a pretty good crowd for the solar cycle.

A clatter from the ventilation shaft next to the counter had all eight bots looking at the opening. They all then heard the sound of something sliding down and they all jumped when something crashed into the opening, causing the blinds in front of it to come flying off.

A giggle caused them all to stare in shock and Stutterstep was surprised to see a seeker sparkling femme now sitting on his bar counter. He had read a story from the previous files of this bar that a sparkling had come through the same ventilation shaft during their time and now it was happening again. Her lime green optic and half visor were searching around curiously.

"Where did she come from?" A patron, whose name was Flutterspin, asked as she stared at the sparkling.

"Somewhere from above would be my guess." His regular said.

The sparkling looked at his regular when the mech said that and, to the surprise of everybot, crawled over to the bot.

"Seems she wants to see you Scavenger." Another of the patrons, named Aero, said as the sparkling continued forward.

Scavenger, his regular, took off his cloak and set it on the seat as the femme stopped and sat in front of him. "What are you doing here little femme?" Scavenger asked the sparkling.

"Care told me to come through and stay until she finds me. We're playing hidey seekey." The little seeker answered.

Stutterstep smiled at that and asked, "Can you tell me your designation?"

The femme looked at him and seemed to study him before smiling and saying, "My name's Malwing."

The entire bar went quiet after that. They had all heard of this sparkling. She was the creation of Pandimala, leader of the Dragon Scouters.

Stutterstep and everybot else jumped when Scavenger started to laugh loudly. The bot was usually the silent type and they weren't used to him being this loud.

"Scavenger, are you ok?" Stutter asked.

When Scavenger calmed down, he nodded and said, "Yes, I just find this all highly ironic. The last sparkling that came through that shaft was her carrier and she did the exact same thing."

That surprised them all. Stutter especially. The little sparkling that he had read about had been Pandimala, the now leader of the Dragon Scouters. Scavenger was right; this was ironic.

A whimper coming from Malwing had them all turning to the little femme and Scavenger asked, "What's wrong Malwing?"

Malwing glanced up at Scavenger with a scared look and she said, "Care-care is hurt. She hurts really badly."

Scavenger felt his spark stop at that click. If Pandimala was hurt and Malwing was here, that meant that the leader was being attacked. Scavenger knew that he had to protect Malwing now until Pandimala, or Chaom, came to retrieve her. Since Pandimala was hurt, that meant that Malwing was now in danger. He had heard about the previous attempts on Pandimala's spark and he knew that, if Pandimala had sent Malwing away, it meant that she feared for her sparkling's safety.

The sound of the door opening caused all eight adult bots in the bar to turn and Scavenger narrowed his optics when he saw a scuffed up car mech that seemed to be of the scout model. When the bot's optics landed on Malwing, Scavenger tensed.

"Oh thank Primus you found her. Pandimala sent me to find Malwing here and bring Malwing to her." The mech stated.

Glancing down at Malwing, Scavenger could see that the mech in front of him was lying. Firstly, Malwing seemed scared of the mech and, in his experience; sparklings normally had an extra sense when it came to identifying bots who meant them harm. Secondly, and lastly, Malwing had said that Pandimala had said for Malwing to stay where she was until she came to get the sparkling.

So, Scavenger narrowed his optics and said, "I don't think that the sparkling wants to go with you. And, since she doesn't, I will not allow you to take her. The only bots who I will release Malwing to is Pandimala or Chaom." He of course would also give her to Megatron and Ultra Magnus but he didn't want to make a list for the bot.

The mech, in return, narrowed his optics and Scavenger and turned to leave while saying, "Fine, I'll go tell Pandimala to come down." Scavenger was then surprised that the mech turned to leave.

Inwardly sighing in relief, Scavenger was about to turn fully around again when he heard the quick charge up of a weapon. Reacting quickly, he picked up Malwing and shielded her with his chassis as he dodged the blast.

Scavenger turned in time to see the mech run out and Aero, along with two other patrons, run after him to catch him. But, the three mechs didn't even make it to the door when they watched the assassin's chassis fly backwards and tumble to a stop. Even from where he was sitting, Scavenger could detect the spilled energon and the burning metal from the mech's probably offlined chassis. But, now the question was, who did it?

"Malwing is in here." He heard Aero tell somebot outside, probably the bot who shot the assassin.

He was ready to get on the defensive again but stopped when he saw the injured femme walk into the room. The femme looked at him and smiled before saying, "Scavenger, it has been a while. We will have to catch up later though; where is Malwing?"

Scavenger nodded in understanding before saying, "It is nice to see you Pandimala. Here is Malwing. I swear, she has your best qualities."

Pandimala smiled at him and took Malwing. While she held her sparkling, said sparkling seemed to glance down and say in a worried voice, "Care-care, your wing's hurt."

"Oh, it is just a scratch dear." Pandimala tried to cover up.

Scavenger raised an optic ridge at that when he caught sight of the ripped open wing that had been quickly staunched to stop the leakage. It would need medical attention soon. Scavenger then walked up to the leader and said, "Pandimala, you should have that looked at as soon as possible."

He could see that Pandimala wanted to object but, after a few clicks, he saw a look of weariness come over Pandimala before she nodded and said, "Very well, let's get back to the surface. Chaom is probably having a spark attack right now."

Scavenger nodded and so the three of them began to make their way up to the top level. As he walked, Scavenger couldn't help but smile when he saw Malwing cuddle into Pandimala's shoulder. The sparkling must have been terrified for her carrier. It was nice to see the two of them together peacefully. As they neared a doorway, he smiled to himself. _"Maybe I should go top side more often._" Scavenger thought to himself as they walked through the door.

When they reached the top though, Scavenger and Pandimala grew worried when Ultra Magnus and Balm ran up to them. While Balm started immediate work on Pandimala, Ultra Magnus said, "Something has happened."

* * *

**Chaom: I don't know how she does it, but the Authoress has dodged yet another bullet. But, she is growing ever closer to getting one.**

**Authoress: Well, you know that I can't kill of my main character. *mutters something***

**Megatron: What did you just mutter? *aims cannon at Authoress***

**Authoress: EEP! *runs like Unicron on her aft***

* * *

**AN: *runs in and catches breath* Sorry but the bots are after me and I can't stay. At least Pandimala is better and so is Malwing. Also, Scavenger's connection to Pandimala will be explained when I get those origin stories started, which I will eventually. Lastly...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! I left you all on cliffy! I wonder what happened? Well, I know but you don't and that is all that matters. So, while you all wallow in curiosity, please read and review. But please, no flames. *hears bots* Got to go! *sprints out of there***


	22. The Drums of War

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: What is going on? **

**Chaom: I don't know but it isn't going to be good.**

**Authoress: Well, you said it and not me.**

**Megatron: But you control the story!**

**Authoress: *runs***

* * *

Ch. 22: The Drums of War

Shrike sighed as she sat in her room. Being the only femme in boot camp at the time had its perks. The main one being that she got a room all to herself. She didn't have to worry about upsetting others with her junk everywhere. But, the downside to having a room to herself was that she didn't have anybot to talk to while she was in it.

Kappo had decided that they were going to have a lock down drill for the solar cycle. That meant that they couldn't leave their rooms until half way through the solar cycle and, after that, they still couldn't leave the building for the entire solar cycle. There were about fifteen clicks left until the first half of their lock down was finished.

Deciding to waste the time, Shrike searched her internal database for a song that she could listen too. After she had met Pandimala, she had been curious about the leader's life while she had been on that organic planet called Earth. After some searching, and some help from some contacts, she was able to download many songs into her internal databanks. She enjoyed listening to many of them when she was alone during times like these. And, since she needed something to keep her mind off of things, she searched until she found the perfect song, or so she thought.

Of course the song, Schools Out, didn't help get her thoughts clear at all. As soon as she heard the first words, her thoughts immediately turned to their graduation day. She still could not decide which team that she would join. She had gone through the pros and cons of joining each one and had yet to figure which one would suit her the best.

Also, another reason that she was having a hard time choosing was because she didn't want to be on a separate team then Alphego. He and her had been best friends since they were little and it would feel weird for her if she was not on the same team as him. Hopefully, that wouldn't happen but she knew that anything was possible.

An alarm going off in her helm told Shrike that the first half of their lockdown was finally over with.

"Thank you Primus!" Shrike yelled in relief before hopping out of her berth and running to the door. When she got there, she threw it open, walked out, closed it, and ran to the door across the hall. When she got there, she knocked and waited for somebot to answer. She was hoping that it wouldn't be Flarespot, Toxic Root, or Nightfreeze. She wasn't in the mood to deal with any of them.

But, she sighed in relief when she saw Alphego walk out. But, she became curious when she saw that he was the only one in the room.

"Hey Alphego. Where are the other mechs at? Did they want to get out that quickly?" Shrike asked her friend.

"No, I woke up from a nap about fifteen clicks ago and they were nowhere in the room. I knew I couldn't go looking for them since we were still on the lock down but I am now wondering where they could have gotten off to." Alphego answered with a shake of his helm.

Shrike was now curious too and said, "Let's go see if we can find them."

Alphego nodded and so the two of them started to search the different rooms on the floor. Since it was only their team of five in the building, the two motorcycle bots didn't have to worry about walking in on someone else and, if they walked in on one of the three they were looking for, well, at least they would have found them.

Shrike had just finished checking the last room on the floor and was about to ask Alphego if they should check the next floor up, for they were on the third floor out of eight, when Alphego said, "Shrike, come here."

Shrike saw that Alphego was standing by a window so she walked over and asked, "What is it?"

He moved to the side and pointed out the window before saying, "I found them, and they aren't alone."

Shrike looked out of the window and was surprised to see the three mechs they were looking for outside standing with two other mechs, one blue and yellow and the other gray and red. To her, they seemed to be talking about something. She then watched as Flarespot shook the servo of the red and gray one and she watched as Toxic Root and Nightfreeze followed his lead.

"What are they doing out there? They aren't supposed to leave the building. And who are those bots? I haven't seen them before." Shrike stated.

As one mech pulled out a strange box, Shrike heard Alphego gasp before he said, "Shrike, we have seen those two before. They were on the news bulletin that the three factions put out about those bots that attacked Pandimala while she was still carrying. Those are two of the Virons."

Shrike felt her optics widen as this information sank in. The three mechs that they went to boot camp with had just joined the Virons and the two of them knew that this was not a good thing.

"We have to get out of here. NOW!" Shrike stated as she went to turn.

But, the two of them got about three steps when the explosions went off and sent them against the side of the hallway. Shrike then lost consciousness.

* * *

"What happened Ultra Magnus?" Pandimala asked the Autobot leader. She saw the worry in his optics and she knew that something big must have happened.

Ultra Magnus let out a sigh before saying, "Not that long ago, the boot camp in Iacon was bombed."

Pandimala stared in shock at the mech in front of her. Her thoughts immediately went to Shrike and Alphego. Even though she had offered hers and Chaom's training expertise but, since she had found out she was soon sparked later, she hadn't been able to help them because of all the stress that she was dealing with. But, she had been told about their progress from the Guardians and she was impressed. But, she was now very worried for their safety.

"Was there anybot inside the building?" Pandimala asked. She was hoping that they would be alright.

"We don't have any details yet. After the attack started here, all of our forces were sent to protect the cities that were being repaired as well as come here. Our closest troops were the Guardians and they said it would take them a good twenty clicks to get there." Ultra Magnus answered.

Pandimala was glad that the Guardians were going to be taking care of the situation. But, she was still surprised about how far away that they were, and they were the closest.

"Was there anything going on there today?" Scavenger asked, making Pandimala jump. She had forgotten that the mech was there.

But, she too wanted to know the answer and so she turned her gaze back to Ultra Magnus. Maybe, the building was empty and there wouldn't be any casualties.

"There was a lock down drill going on that was set to last the entire solar cycle. The only ones allowed in the building were the five recruits that we have now." Ultra Magnus answered.

Pandimala stood up and paced. This was not good. Those kids didn't have anybot nearby to help them. It was almost like the Virons knew that they were having the lock down. That was when a thought occurred to her. "Ultra Magnus, how did you find out about the lock down?" She remembered during her time that the only bots who knew about the lockdown were the bots that were inside the building and the instructors. The higher ups were only told if they needed a student who was a part of the lock down.

"Kappo called me. Why?" Ultra Magnus answered and then asked.

"Did the council know about the lock down?" Pandimala again asked.

"No. From what Kappo told me, I was the only one outside of the troop that knew about the lock down. Why are you asking?"

Pandimala felt panic rise in her systems as she said, "That building is checked at the end of every cycle for anything wrong, ever since that incident with the security systems going off on me when I was there. That means,"

"That whoever did this had to do this during the lock down. And, since the building could only be opened from the inside, one or more of those recruits must have joined the Virons." Scavenger finished in realization.

Pandimala nodded and said, "I doubt that Shrike or Alphego did this because they are too loyal to the Guardians to do something like this. But, I wouldn't put it past any of their team mates to do this sort of thing." She then turned her gaze to the general direction that Iacon was in. She was hoping that the two bots would be alright. She wished that she could fly and help them but her wing was still being repaired and she had to stay with Malwing, who had fallen into recharge. Pandimala would check on them when she was able.

* * *

Alphego groaned as he woke up. The explosion had been disorienting and he was trying to remember what had happened. Glancing around, he saw that he was surrounded by flames and that the windows were blocked so he couldn't get out that way. Glancing next to him, he saw Shrike start to get up from the ground and it was with seeing that motion that he remembered what had happened. How Flarespot, Toxic Root, and Nightfreeze had betrayed them to the Virons and had set explosives off in the building. Luckily, the building hadn't come down but he could tell that the structure was giving because of the occasional shifts that he would feel.

"Alphego, are you ok?"

Alphego turned to Shrike and nodded before saying, "Yeah. Let's get out of here. I don't want to end up frying."

Shrike nodded and so the two of them ran to the stairs and made their way down to the first floor. But, when they got to the entrance of the second floor, they saw that the steps were blocked by burning debris.

"Come on. There's another set of stairs on the other side of the building." Alphego stated. Even though he knew that those stairs would put them at the opposite end of the exit, he knew that was their only choice.

Shrike nodded and said, "Ok, let's get out of here. We need to tell the Guardians what happened."

Alphego nodded and led the way to the stairs. Once they arrived, they made their way down the stairs and started their trek to the door. Alphego couldn't see the door yet but the hallway was long and he knew that it would take them a few clicks to get over there. When they got about half way to the exit, in Alphego's estimation, Alphego thought that they might actually make it without a problem.

"Alphego look out!" Shrike yelled out.

Alphego turned to her and was about to ask why when he was suddenly shoved by her and he fell to the ground as he heard the sound of something breaking and something falling. He then felt his helm hit the floor and he went unconscious.

When Alphego woke up, he saw that about three clicks had passed. His helm was hurting and he felt a little dizzy. Plus, the heat was starting to get to him and he wasn't sure that he was going to be able to stand. But, he stood when his processor reminded him about Shrike. Glancing around, he felt his optics widen when he saw her with a large support beam trapping her legs. He could also see a nasty bump on her helm and he knew that she was going to be in trouble.

Running up to her, Alphego took a knee in front of her and said, "Shrike, can you hear me?"

Of course, there was no answer and now Alphego was extremely worried. He knew that the heat would start to mess with their systems soon and he also knew that the building was going to come down at any click. Glancing at the support beam, he knew that there was only one thing that he could do. Concentrating, he created his clone and they both took an edge before trying to lift the impediment. But, even with the both of them working together, they couldn't get it to budge.

"Come on, there has to be something that I can do." Alphego tried to encourage himself.

That was when he remembered something that Blackbit and Hinge had said that he could do once he had worked enough. They said that, one solar cycle, he would be able to make more than one clone. They had estimated that he could probably make six clones total from what they had seen. It was risky to try but Alphego knew that Shrike needed his full help to get out of there online. So, he focused his thoughts and allowed the confidence that he was feeling flow through him as he wanted to free Shrike. He then felt a pull on his energy, slightly, and then he started to lift the beam.

* * *

Tana felt her spark pounding in her chestplate with fear and worry. They had been just about to head to Kaon when the explosion had gone off. At first, they weren't sure where the explosion had originated. But, when Ultra Magnus had called and asked them to get over to the boot camp because there was an explosion, the six Guardians had all stared at each other in horrified fear before transforming and racing to the camp. But, they knew that they were a good twenty clicks away so they were going double time to get there before it was too late.

"Tana, you need to calm down. If we go in there without thinking, we won't be able to help whoever is injured." Chem said over their comm. frequency, acting as the level headed one of course.

Tana let out an exasperated sigh and said, "I just can't help it Chem. What if Shrike and Alphego are hurt and need help now? What if the building is about to collapse on them and they are stuck? We need to get there and help them!"

She watched Hinge slow down slightly so he was driving next to her before he said, "Tana, we are going to get there in time. We just need to focus. Don't let all of our training go to waste because you are worried. You are a Guardian, Tana, and we need to keep a cool helm."

Tana knew that he was right and so she said, "Sorry Hinge, I just don't want to lose them. They are nice bots and they don't deserve anything like this to happen to them."

Tana cared for those two motorcycle bots like she cared for Pandimala. She felt like they were close friends and she hated them getting hurt.

"Tana dear, they will be fine. You just have to have faith in them. We have trained them well." Blackbit said as he drove a little closer to her.

Tana smiled internally and said, "I know dear, I am just feeling very overprotective."

She could feel his understanding flow through their bond as he said, "I know sweetspark. Now, let's just concentrate on getting there."

Tana felt a lot better as they continued on their way to the boot camp. Her teammates' words were making her feel a lot better about the whole situation, but that didn't mean that she felt totally relieved by their talks. Her worries were only soothed for the click. She knew that she was going to feel the same thing again when they got closer.

"Oh my Primus! The building!" Chem stated in shock.

Tana almost slammed on her brakes as she felt her spark stop. They were still five clicks away but they would have had to been blind to miss the boot camp building that was engulfed with raging flames. The building seemed to be standing only by the will of Primus.

"We need to get there now!" Tana yelled as she put the petal to the metal and zoomed past Hinge, not caring about formation. And, from the sound of engines racing behind her, she was not alone in her drive to get to the building as quickly as possible.

As soon as they stopped in front of the building, the Guardians transformed and Tana wasted no time in sprinting to the main door. She was not going to allow those bots to be in danger longer then they had to be.

**Tana, I'm with you dear. **Tana heard Blackbit say over the bond as she heard pedesteps to her right.

Tana nodded and took out her flail as she arrived at the main door. It just took one swing of her flail for the door to come crashing down.

"Shrike, Alphego; can you hear me?" Tana yelled into the flaming corridor.

No answer came and Tana was about to charge in when Blackbit put a servo on her shoulder and said, "Wait, look." He then pointed ahead of them.

Tana hesitated and studied the smoky flaming path in front of them. At first, she couldn't see a thing. But, after a few nano-clicks, she saw eight figures walking toward them through the smoke. Tana kept her flail out and also took out her morning star as she waited for the figures to make themselves known. There were only supposed to be five bots in the building because of the lock down.

She watched as Blackbit took a protective stance in front of her as he took out one of his swords. He was about to lunge at the eight bots when Tana suddenly saw who they were.

"Wait Blackbit, look." Tana told her bondmate.

He glanced at her with curiosity but nodded in agreement and stood to the side. Tana then smiled in relief when she saw that, in the middle of the bots, stood Alphego holding an unconscious Shrike in his arms, unconscious but still online from how determined Alphego seemed to get her out.

Or, Tana had to amend, how determined the Alphegos were. She was shocked that the young motorcycle mech had been able to create seven clones of himself. She knew the main clone that looked like his colors had been switched and that one was standing next to him on his right. Next to that clone was one that was purely black, no other coloring showing. The one next to that one was mainly black with white servos and the one next to that was mainly black with white stripes purely on its helm.

On Alphego's left, she saw a pure white clone, not a single black mark on its plating that couldn't be removed by water. Next to that one was a mainly white clone with black pedes and next to that one was a mainly white one with black stripes on its midsection. The final clone was a little strange for Tana in the fact that it was neither black nor white, but a seemingly bland gray color. But, as she studied the bot, she could see strength, determination, and wisdom that she would normally see in a war hardened veteran that knew what sacrifices had to be taken to achieve the goals of the whole.

She was about to walk up and greet Alphego when, suddenly, the actual mech seemed to stutter in his step. As he did, the mechs around him also seemed to weaken and lose their balance. Alphego seemed to glance at the two of them before he fell to the ground, allowing Shrike to fall in front of him. As soon as the mech hit the ground, the clones around him all vanished.

"Alphego!" Tana yelled as she and Blackbit ran up to the two young bots.

When she got to Shrike, Tana checked the femme over and realized that she had put into stasis lock by some force trauma to the helm that a medic would have to look over. Picking up Shrike, Tana turned to Blackbit to see that her mate had picked up a semiconscious Alphego. Walking over to the mech, she heard Blackbit ask, "Alphego, where are the other recruits?"

Alphego seemed to be in a lot of pain and seemed to be fighting to stay online. But, he looked at them with optics that seemed to be burning with anger before saying, "Traitors…all three of them." He then winced before saying, "Set explosives…around building. Shrike and I…we saw them shake…shake servos with…Thunderwave and Firefog." He then took a ragged breath before shaking a little. The poor mech then fell into stasis lock.

A creak from the ceiling above told the two Guardians that they had to get out of the building. Nodding at each other, the bonded couple carried the two recruits out of the building. When they got to the other Guardians, before anything could be said, they all watched as the building came down.

"Where were the other recruits?" Hinge asked them.

Blackbit growled and said, "Traitors. They helped the Virons set the bombs up inside the school."

Chem then examined the two recruits that they had before saying, "And what about them?"

Tana motioned to Shrike and said, "Shrike received a blow to the helm that I believe put her in stasis lock but she also has multiple heat injuries and many of her systems are overheated and are threatening to be permanently damaged as well as more blows to her armor."

The then glanced at Blackbit as he said, "Alphego has multiple blows to his armor like Shrike but he was lucky not to get one to the helm. That was probably what kept him conscious as long as he was. He has many heat injuries as well and many of his systems are overheated like Shrike's. Also, unlike Shrike, Alphego's energy reserves are dangerously low and I fear that he will offline if we do not get him on a drip before the end of the solar cycle."

The bots who had not gone inside widened their optics in surprise before Hindsight asked, "How? I don't see a single leak coming out of him."

Tana shook her helm and said, "Well, I would be drained of energy too if I could summon seven clones of myself for only Primus knows how long that mech lasted."

Hearing more explosions in the distance, Hinge sighed and said, "Let's get them to Guardian headquarters so we can teleport them to the med center in Kaon. From how Ultra Magnus was sounding, that is our most secure position right now."

The others nodded and headed off toward their headquarters. As they drove, Tana asked, "Mechs, are we in war?"

The others were silent for a few clicks before Chem sighed and said with a heavy voice, "I'm afraid that we are Tana. And war can only end with suffering and energon spilled."

* * *

**Tana: I hope those two will be ok.**

**Hinge: As do I. But I now want to know what that other explosion was. **

**Blackbit: Don't worry. Authoress will tell us in the next chapter. She always does.**

**Chem: That means that this won't be good.**

* * *

**AN: Well, here is the next exciting chapter that is leading toward the end of the story. Next chapter will have more showing up about the new war. A place that was attacked during the first war has been attacked again. Until next chapter though, please read and review. But, no flames.**


	23. The Raging Tempest

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: I hate being back in war. Why couldn't we still be in peace?**

**Authoress: Because war had to start again. This war will change everything.**

**Chaom: And what exactly will it change.**

**Authoress: You will find out.**

* * *

Ch. 23: The Raging Tempest

Pitch held back a sigh of boredom as he waited. He had yet to hear back from Sentinel on how the attack on Kaon was fairing. The last thing that he had heard was that they were searching for that sparkling. He was hoping that their luck would change. The past few times they had tried to offline Pandimala, and her sparkling, they had always been unsuccessful. This time, maybe luck would be on their side.

"Sentinel to Pitch. Come in Pitch."

Pitch heard Sentinel over the comm. link. "Pitch here Sentinel. What's the status with the sparkling?"

"We were too late. The sparkling ended up in an underground Kaonian bar and the mechs there stopped our agent from offlining the sparkling."

"I'll be having a little talk with that bot when I see him." Pitch stated.

But, he was surprised when Sentinel said, "You won't be able to Pitch. Our mech got about five feet from the bar when Pandimala showed up in front of him. One shot through his chest plate. He was offline before he hit the floor."

Pitch pictured the scene and scowled. That femme had yet again got in the way of one of his plans. She needed to be taken out of the picture but, no matter how many times they tried, they couldn't get a successful attack to finish its job. The femme caused his energon to burn with hatred. She was becoming more of a problem then the Guardians, and that was saying something.

"Scrap that femme to the Pit. Get back here as quickly as you can Sentinel. We will need your unit's help in taking our prize." Pitch stated before he cut the line. He now just had to wait for Thunderwave's check in.

A loud explosion coming from inside of Iacon caused Pitch to smirk. It seemed as if the attack on the boot camp had been a success. But, he knew not to get his hopes up so he waited for Thunderwave and Firefog to check in.

"Pitch come in. This is Thunderwave." Pitch heard Thunderwave say through the comm. link.

"Pitch here. What is your status?" Pitch answered and then questioned.

He could practically hear the smirk in Thunderwave's voice as he said, "Mission a complete success. The building is up in flames now and the three mechs that we were aiming for have joined our cause."

Finally, he was getting some good news. This was making his bad day better. The attack on the boot camp would be a major blow to their enemies, though not as damaging as the one that he was about to initiate. "Very good job. Get all of your afts to our final location and help me take them down." Pitch stated before opening a comm. channel with the entire Viron faction and saying, "My fellow Virons, converge on Iacon and attack. Let none escape alive!" He then cut the channel and drew his sword before charging at the Cyber-Dojo while saying to the troops with him, "Virons, attack and destroy all who are online in that dojo! Retrieve the protoforms as quickly as you can so we may bolster our ranks!"

He then ran at the main doors while yelling one word;

"CHARGE!"

* * *

Tune snapped out of her meditation quickly when she heard an explosion in the distance. If the war had still been going on, she would not have been worried. But, since the war was supposed to be over, the explosion had her extremely worried. Glancing at her twin, who was the only one in the room with her, she said, "Scale, what was that?"

Scale looked confused until she put her servo to her comm. link. After a click of waiting, Scale looked at her with worried optics and said, "The Virons have attacked Pandimala and Malwing in Kaon and Ultra Magnus just said that the boot camp has just been bombed."

They both stood up quickly and ran to the main room, where the other ninjas were. When they arrived, they saw Springer, Jazz, Prowl, and Lockdown standing there talking. They didn't seem surprised to see them so Tune figured that they knew about the attacks. But, just to make sure, she asked, "You bots know?"

Prowl nodded and said, "Yes and we are worried that the Virons will come after the protoforms. Can you try to contact Pandimala and ask her if Kaon is secure?"

Tune nodded and got onto her comm. link before saying, "Pandimala, are you there?"

It took a click before Pandimala said, "We are really busy here Tune. What is the situation?"

"We need to know if Kaon is secure from the Virons." Tune stated.

It took a click before Pandimala said, "We just got it secure. Why?"

"We are worried that the Virons will come after the protoforms and we want to teleport them somewhere safe." Tune stated.

The answer was immediate. "We are secure. Send them through immediately." Pandimala then cut the line.

Tune turned to the others and said, "They are ready to receive them whenever you transport them."

Prowl nodded and seemed like he was about to say something when they heard a blaster slam into the front doors. Knowing that it was the Virons, Prowl said, "Jazz, Springer, and Scale; get to the protoforms and send them to Kaon. The three of us will hold them off until then."

The three designated bots nodded before running to the protoform chamber. When they had disappeared, Prowl took out his throwing stars while Lockdown stood at the ready. Tune felt a slight longing to be with her twin at this time but she could see the logic in Prowl's plan of separating them. Since their twin bond was not affected by communication scramblers, they could keep tabs with each other's status. That would be good in case the Virons broke through them and made a dash to the protoform chamber.

Taking out her sword, Tune said, "Ok, nothing gets past us."

The two mechs glanced at her and Lockdown smirked before saying, "Whatever you say."

Tune shook her helm and smiled at that. Lockdown had the strangest way of lightening up the mood. But, she immediately became serious when the door in front of them was knocked down and Pitch stepped through, a troop of Virons behind him.

"This is what you have to stop me. This is almost pathetic." Pitch gloated.

Tune narrowed her optics at the mech before saying, "Well, why don't you come and find out Pitchy?"

Pitch growled at her before lunging at her, sword out. Tune charged at him and met his sword strike straight on while the other two dealt with the bots that had gotten in. Tune swung at Pitch and growled as his blade met hers. She knew that she would get nowhere with her current attack form so she put away her sword and grabbed Pitch's wrist before twisting it and turning him around. Her goal was to be able to shove him away to disorient him but, as she was about to kick, Pitch turned with her twist and fired a shot at her.

Tune screeched as the shot hit her in the side and threw her into the wall behind her. She just wanted to stay down but she had to protect the protoforms until the others had transported them out. So, standing up, she charged at Pitch again.

"Argh, why can't you stay down femme?" Pitch growled as their blades met once again.

Tune let off a smirk and said, "Well, I have something to fight for and I will not let you get your slimy servos near your goal."

Pitch raised an optic ridge and shoved her back, breaking the lock, before asking, "And what is my goal Tune?"

Tune narrowed her optics and growled, "You are here to take the protoforms and we will not let you."

Pitch let out a laugh at that. "Oh, and you think that you three will be able to stop me?"

Tune was surprised when he said that. He didn't know about Scale, Jazz, or Springer and that meant that they had more time to defend the protoforms. Not as much time as Tune would like but enough for the three to get the protoforms out.

_**Tune, this is Scale. All the protoforms have been taken out. Get out of there as quickly as you can. Jazz is calling a teleport in for us three now. You three call one when you are ready. **_Scale said over their twin bond. Tune was really glad that they had that. It helped keep their conversations away from enemy audio receptors.

_**Hear you loud and clear Scale. I'll make Pitch here think we are retreating out of fear and make him think we haven't taken the protoforms. See you in a few clicks. **_

_**What are you going to do Tune?**_

_**I'll see you soon Scale. **_Tune stated before shutting off their bond. She didn't want her twin to feel what was about to happen.

Charging at Pitch, Tune swung her blade and allowed an opening for Pitch to swing at. Luckily, he fell for the bait.

Of course, just because he fell for it, didn't mean it didn't hurt like scrap. Tune screeched a deafening scream as his blade ran across her abdomen. It wasn't deep enough to cause serious damage but she was leaking energon.

"Hmm, seems you are weakening. I thought you would be more of a challenge." Pitch taunted.

Tune wanted to beat the scrap out of him, she really did, but she had to get out of there before more Viron reinforcements arrived. So, instead, she backed up and yelled, "Prowl, Lockdown; we need to retreat now!"

The two mechs looked shocked at her and nodded before Prowl got on his comm. link, Lockdown holding off the enemy advancement.

Pitch, meanwhile, let out a laugh and said, "Ah, it seems as if I have won this one."

Tune growled and, as she saw the scene disappeared in front of her, she hissed, "I will be getting the last laugh Pitch." She then disappeared.

* * *

Hindsight was nervous as they waited outside of the emergency room doors, waiting for the status of Alphego and Shrike. They had done a basic scan on the two bots but they had not known how deep the damage had gone.

Suddenly, the doors opened and Ratchet walked out.

"Ratchet, how are they?" Hinge asked right away.

Ratchet sighed. "They are both going to be fine thanks to you getting them here as quickly as you did. I would say that, if you had waited another ten clicks, those two might be coming out with permanent damage. Luckily though, they will both be fine. A few of their systems were overheated and so we had to repair them. They should be able to leave by the end of the solar cycle though. Actually, they are both awake and are asking for you five."

Hindsight laughed when, as soon as Ratchet said the last part, Tana practically sprinted into the med room. She was never very patient when it came to friends. Of course, while that wasn't a bad quality, she was very hyper and that could lead to her acting rash. Like he thought, though, that wasn't a bad quality, especially now.

The rest of them then walked inside and Hindsight saw the two motorcycle bots sitting up. Shrike was laughing her helm off while Alphego was being glomped by Tana. Said mech glanced at them and the five of them in the doorway chuckled when he gave them a pleading look. Of course, being the trouble maker he was, he wasn't going to stop Tana.

Luckily for Alphego, Blackbit walked up and grabbed his mate's shoulders before saying, "Tana dear; I think that Alphego would like to breath."

Tana smirked and stepped back before saying, "I regret nothing."

They all then laughed and then Chem stepped forward. "How are you two feeling?"

Shrike shrugged her shoulders and said, "Normal I guess. Doc Hatchet did a good job in fixing us up."

Alphego then glanced at them and asked, "What has been going on out here? Ratchet hinted that some more bots had been attacked by the Virons."

Foresight nodded and said, "Yeah. Kaon was attacked and, more specifically, Pandimala and Malwing."

The two bots on the berths looked solemn and Hindsight stepped closer to say something. But, something stopped him.

"HINDSIGHT YOU ANSWER THIS RIGHT NOW!" Hindsight shrieked in short pain when the voice screeched into his comm. link.

"Are you ok Hindsight?" Alphego asked. The rest of the bots were staring at him with a concerned look.

Hindsight nodded and glared at his twin before saying, "Yeah. My twin's bondmate, and my bondmate's sister, is shrieking in my comm. link about something. I hope you haven't gotten her angry Fore. I like my audios working, believe it or not." He then answered is comm. link saying, "I'm here Scale. What is wrong?"

"My sister did something stupid." Scale said.

"Like what?" Hindsight asked.

He heard Scale huff in frustration. "The dojo was attacked. She, Lockdown, and Prowl were holding off the Virons while Jazz, Springer, and I got the protoforms transported to Kaon. Once we were done, I told Tune and I told her to get out since the three of us were. She said that she would make Pitch think that they were retreating out of fear."

"Wait; PITCH WAS THERE!" Hindsight asked with a shriek of his own.

"Yes, and when I tried to ask her what she had planned, she closed our bond. Next thing I know, Tune comes through the teleport with a fragging gash across her abdomen. Balm assures me that it was not life threatening but I thought that you should know." Scale finished.

Hindsight growled and said, "Thank you Scale. I'll get down there as soon as I can. We are in the med center in Iacon with Alphego and Shrike."

"Ok, but Iacon is a major battleground right now. You bots had best stay on your pedes." Scale stated before cutting the link.

"What happened Hindsight?" Alphego asked.

Hindsight glanced at them all and answered, "The Virons, with Pitch, attacked the dojo. They got the protoforms out but Tune was injured. Balm says that she will be ok. Scale also says that Iacon has become a battleground. We need to be careful."

Chem sighed in relief and said, "That is good that Tune will be ok. But we need to be on guard. We don't want the Virons getting in here."

Hindsight nodded and they all then went quiet. Hindsight knew that this was going to be a stressful time and that everything would be challenged.

* * *

Pandimala paced in worry. By the click, they were getting reports of cities falling to the Virons. The first to fall was Polyhex. The city had very few of their bots there so the Virons easily over ran the city. Then, their bots in Praxus called in and said that the city was lost and more cities followed. The only cities that hadn't called in yet were Iacon, Vos, and, of course, Kaon. Pandimala feared that it would not be much longer until Iacon called in. She knew that the attack there was already heating up and she knew that it would soon be decided if they would have the city or not.

"Pandimala, you need to calm down." Ultra Magnus said.

Pandimala nodded. "I know but I can't stop worrying. We just ended the last war and that took millions of stellar cycles. I am afraid that this one might last just as long or longer."

Megatron walked up and said, "But, the difference this time is that the Autobots, Decepticons, and Dragon Scouters are working together so we will be a much more formidable force then we were when we were separate teams."

Pandimala knew that Megatron was right. Even though the Virons seemed to have many bots, the alliance between their three factions could probably defeat them quickly if they worked together efficiently.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Pandimala stated. But she still couldn't get the worry out of her systems.

The doors opening drew their attention to it and Pandimala smiled when she saw Chaom walk in with Malwing. Walking up to them, Pandimala picked up Malwing and asked, "And how is my little femme doing today?"

Malwing giggled in response and said, "Care-care I feel better now." Malwing then looked around and saw Megatron. Holding out her arms, Malwing asked, "See Megs please?"

Pandimala laughed and said, "Of course you can see Megs." Pandimala then walked over to Megatron and handed him Malwing. As the two of them talked, Pandimala turned to Chaom and asked, "Anything happen yet?"

Chaom shook his helm and said, "No, the forces in Iacon seem to be holding pretty nicely. Vos hasn't reported in yet though and I am starting to worry. Starscream is there now and he would have reported in unless something had happened."

Pandimala felt her spark fall slightly. She had known Starscream since she was little and it pained her to think that he was in trouble.

The doors opening drew their attentions to it and Pandimala felt a flash of worry when she saw energon dripping from Starscream. He must have seen her worry though because he said, "Don't worry, only the stuff coming from the scratch on my wings is mine. Vos is lost. We held them off but they cut the communication lines and we barely escaped. One of their troops caught my wing with their blade. He didn't survive long after."

Pandimala was surprised that Vos had fallen before Iacon. But, that might have been exactly what the Virons wanted. She knew that this war was going to be played out both mentally and physically so she knew that she would have to be prepared for the unexpected if they were to win.

* * *

**Megatron: THEY WENT AFTER THE PROTOFORMS!? That was so low.**

**Authoress: Didn't you go after the protoforms too Megatron?**

**Megatron: *stutters* Well, yes, but I wasn't in my right processor. These bots are just evil.**

**Authoress: And how can you tell that?**

**Megatron: I didn't try to kill a sparkling.**

**Authoress: *nods* Touche.**

* * *

**AN: And here is the new chapter. Sorry it took so long folks but I was held up. I was watching TFP and I got this awesome story idea and so I have been working on it slightly. It isn't up yet but the prologue is done. But, back to this story. It will be going kind of at this pace, maybe a little slower, until we get to the final chapter and the epilogue. Oh, and there will be thirty individual chapters total and then I will add the epilogue after chapter 30. Until the next I update though, please read and review. But no flames.**


	24. Shift of Power

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Ok, what is the deal with the wait?**

**Chaom: Yeah, I miss being read about.**

**Authoress: Sorry, but graduation got in the way.**

* * *

Ch. 24: Shift of Power

Pandimala sighed as she stared out over the city of Kaon from the top of their temporary base. It was their only remaining city. Iacon had fallen within the cycle of Starscream's entrance and reporting of Vos' fall. Luckily, they had gotten their bots out but now the once beautiful city of Iacon was now a smoldering city on the horizon. It was sad to see her home of stellar cycles burning. She would have never guessed that Iacon of all places would end up like that. The streets that she had played on, and under, with Zarron and Tana, and later Remcy and Balm, were being destroyed by the nano-click.

"Pandimala, are you ok?" A familiar voice asked.

Pandimala turned around and saw that Starscream was standing behind her. The seeker had a knowing look on his faceplate but Pandimala was hoping to get around it.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just taking in the view." Pandimala said as an excuse.

But, of course, Starscream didn't buy it and walked up to her before saying, "Pandimala, I have known you since you were a sparkling. You can't hide when you are upset."

Pandimala crossed her arms across her chestplate and glanced back over the horizon. "I feel like we could have prevented this. We didn't go after those Virons when we had the chance and now their numbers have multiplied greatly and we are now in another war. I had hoped to raise my sparkling in a war free environment. That is why Chaom and I waited for so long."

"What do you mean?" Starscream asked.

Pandimala could tell that the Decepticon seeker was standing right beside her. "When Chaom and I first bonded, we decided to wait to have sparklings until we could get a fully functional base. Right before the first time we were going to try, Team Galaxy, Ness, and the other Guardians who weren't already with us came to Earth and so we held off to get them settled. Once things settled with them, we were going to finally try when we were pulled back into the war. Finally, we were able to have our sparkling and we hoped that she wouldn't have to live through a war but the Virons changed that."

She then went silent. The weight of responsibility that was being thrust upon her now that a new war had begun was hard to take. She had to worry about Chaom and Malwing. If either of them were to get hurt, Pandimala would never forgive herself. She would always take the blame. The Virons had always been after her and the ones that she loved.

"Pandimala I understand that this isn't going to be easy. But, I will be there to help you. We all will. Your family is not alone in this fight. The Virons attacked us all when they first attacked you and now we have to work out a plan of action that will allow us to retake Cybertron from those frag helms."

Pandimala turned to the seeker when he said that and she smiled at the comforting look that he was giving her. She knew that, with all of them working together, they would defeat those Virons.

"Thanks Starscream. I needed that." Pandimala stated honestly.

Starscream smiled. "You're welcome 'Mala." He then glanced around and asked, "Where is Malwing and Chaom?"

"Chaom is with Ultra Magnus and Megatron discussing a few things and Malwing is being watched by the council that is still on our side. Chromia and Botanica were quite insistent when I asked that they take care of her." Pandimala answered, chuckling at the last part. She then glanced at her internal clock and said, "Let's go see my mate and the other two. We should help them make up a plan to take back our home world."

Starscream nodded and so the two of them made their way to the control room of their temporary base.

* * *

Megatron studied the holographic image of Praxus intently. The three of them, him, Ultra Magnus, and Chaom, had decided that going after Praxus would be best because the Virons would probably be protecting that city the least because it was still being fixed when the attacks started. Their enemy would most likely be protecting Vos and Iacon the fiercest because of how sentimental it was to them all. They would probably be holding Kaon as fiercely if they had been able to take it from them. But, luckily, they were able to hold onto the city.

"Ok, how are we going to proceed with the attack? While we are sure that they are protecting the city the least, we know that they still had bots there and, worse, the Virons had hostages there. While many of the cities had been able to evacuate, Praxus had been unable to because of their lack of communication with the outside since they were still rebuilding. The only reason we even knew that it fell was because one bot escaped and told one of our troops stationed on the border before the poor bot offlined." Chaom stated.

Megatron nodded in agreement. There were so many things that had to be worked out that he had no idea where to start. He knew that they had to get the hostages out of the city before the Virons decided to use them against their three factions or, even worse, offline them for the heck of it. Before this second war started, he would have never assumed that the enemy would kill bots just for the fun of it. But, since he had seen what the Virons were capable of doing if they wanted, he wouldn't put it past him.

"We would have to get some bots in there to scout out the terrain and send us layouts about the enemy's placement and where exactly they are keeping the hostages. Also, we might be able to save the group of hostages in the same swoop if whoever we send can." Ultra Magnus stated.

"But who will we send? There must be many bots who would like to hit the Virons but we need bots who can keep their helms level in that situation." Ultra Magnus questioned.

Megatron sighed at that. There were many bots who could fit part of the criteria. And, he was sure that many bots would love to take a swing at the Virons because of what they had done to the peace that they had settled. The decision was just way too important to just have any bot though. Sparks were at stake and he didn't want to risk them for nothing.

"Well, if you mechs wouldn't mind me cutting in, I would like to suggest a group of bots who would be perfect for this mission."

Megatron turned to the door and smiled when he saw Pandimala and Starscream standing there. He was wondering when they had even arrived. The last he saw of Pandimala was when she had asked to leave the room to get some air, and that was a good two cycles ago.

* * *

Pandimala smirked. She could tell that the three mechs in the room were not expecting hers and Starscream's sudden appearance. Of course, she couldn't blame them. The subject that they were talking about was one that she had been pondering ever since she had heard the report about there being hostages still in Praxus. Her processor had been going over every possibility that could be used.

"You have our audio receptors 'Mala. Who do you think should go?" Chaom asked her.

Pandimala smiled and said, "Why, the only group of scouts who ever beat the final level of the scout training program. The bots with that skill would allow them to get into Praxus and, not only inform us of their status, but also be able to free the hostages that the Virons currently possess within the city.

Megatron looked confused at this and asked, "Who are you talking about? And what is so special about the final level of the scout training program?"

Ultra Magnus, who Pandimala could see had figured out who she was talking about, answered Megatron's question. "At the scout training facility in Iacon, there was a specialized training program. For many lifetimes since its creation, the final level of the program had been unable to be beaten, no matter how many bots took on the challenge together. That all changed when Pandimala here was still in boot camp. There was a bot who had been ready to be a scout trainer after his first day of boot camp but the scout board said that the mech had to complete at least one year of the scout school before they would consider allowing him to become a trainer. On his first day, he met two other mechs, mechs that would become members of his team, and they trained together for the entire year. When the final exam time came along, all of the instructors were surprised when they asked for the final level. The instructors tried to reason with them and tell them that they would almost certainly fail but the three bots had been insistent."

"Let me guess, the bots passed." Starscream put in.

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "They did more then pass. They beat their final exam quicker than any graduate from the school ever had. The inspectors were astonished and allowed them to begin teaching right away. You all know one of them very well. And from how Pandimala has been talking, she has at least met the other two of the bots."

Pandimala nodded and said, "I have only met them once but they were, impressive."

"Pandimala who is the bot that we know? And who are the other bots?" Chaom asked.

Pandimala glanced at him and was surprised that he didn't know who they were talking about. She and the final mech had been friends for a long, long time. Since she was little in fact. "Chaom, you know who one bot is. I have known him for a very long time and he is one of my closest friends."

The three bots who were not in on the identities suddenly looked as if they had been looking at the situation with their optics offline.

"Of course, we should have known that you were talking about Zarron. But who are the other two mechs?" Starscream stated and then asked.

Pandimala looked at Ultra Magnus and he nodded in understanding before turning to the bots to answer the question. "The other two bots are named Hound and Mirage. They are both very accomplished scouts."

Megatron nodded and said, "I agree as well. Those three bots are our best option. We now need to inform the three bots of their assignment."

He looked like he was going to say more but Ultra Magnus stopped him with a held up servo.

"What is it Ultra Magnus?" Pandimala asked in concern.

Ultra Magnus held up a digit to her and said in his comm. link, "Knockout, calm down and tell me what the frag is happening."

Silence filled the room and, during that time, Pandimala felt a wave of fear come through her bond. And, since she knew it was coming from Chaom, it could only be coming from one other source.

* * *

"I and the other members of the council who are on our side were walking to come meet up with you and the others because Malwing wanted to see one of her creators. We were walking toward the temporary center but we have been surrounded by members of the Autobots and Decepticons. I am worried that we may not be able to keep this from turning into a fight and, while we could defend ourselves for the most part, we have Malwing with us and I do not want these idiots hurting her by accident. That is the last thing that our alliance needs right now." Knockout reported.

Ultra Magnus growled at this and said, "Ok, just avoid a fight for as long as you can. The five of us are on our way." He then turned to the others and he could see immediately that Pandimala and Chaom knew, at the least, that their sparkling was in danger.

"What is going on Magnus?" Megatron questioned.

Ultra Magnus turned to his fellow leader and said, "Some of our troops have surrounded the council and they are afraid that these troops might attack them. Worse of all, the council has Malwing with them."

Megatron's and Starscream's optics widened at this revelation for a few nano-clicks before they narrowed into anger. Megatron primed his arm cannon before he said, "Let's go put them back into their places."

Ultra Magnus, along with the other three, nodded before they locked onto the council's signals and made their way to them. Even if the council still with them had done something terrible, which they hadn't, Ultra Magnus would still be fuming at the bots who were endangering them because they were endangering a sparkling, something that hadn't been on Cybertron since before the first war began. Radar was one of the last sparkling that he had ever met before Malwing.

"When I get my servos on those bots if they dare hurt my little sparkling I will make sure that they will never be able to see the light of day again." Chaom growled as they arrived at the three quarters point. Ultra Magnus could not blame the mech for his outward anger and he was feeling his equivalent of the second in command's anger, though he knew that he knew that his anger was nowhere near Pandimala's and Chaom's anger.

"I agree. Our troops should know better than to do this." Megatron growled.

Ultra Magnus nodded and the five of them quickly made their way to the outside. As soon as they exited the building, Ultra Magnus could see that at least twenty mechs from the Autobots and twenty from the Decepticons, making forty in total, were surrounding the small group of council bots, who were in turn surrounding Knockout, who was currently holding Malwing. That made sense since Knockout was the fastest among the council and could make a quick escape with Malwing if things got nasty.

"Ultra Magnus," He turned to Pandimala as she strained his name out of her vocals before she continued, "Get their attention or I will. And trust me, we want you to because we do not need any more energon spilled this solar cycle but I will since they are threatening my sparkling."

"Hey, why are you council-frags hiding the red one? Let him come out and take the punishment that we are going to deal to you all." One of the mechs in the large group stated.

Ultra Magnus knew that, with that statement, he had to act quickly so he took out his hammer and slammed the bottom of the handle to the ground, causing electricity to fly followed with a loud boom. While the electricity didn't hurt the crowd of bots, it sure scared the scrap out of them and caused them all to look in their direction.

"What the frag is going on here?" Ultra Magnus and Megatron stated at the same time as they glared at the troops before them.

One mech, who was a Decepticon, stepped forward and said, "We are taking care of these worms who say that they are on our side."

An Autobot then stepped out and said, "They betrayed our trust and yours and we are going to make them pay."

"No you are not." Pandimala growled as she stepped forward. Ultra Magnus could see the anger emanating off of her and he knew that she was barely holding herself back from ripping each and every Cybertronian in the crowd who attacked the council to shreds.

"Why not? They attacked you!" Another Autobot chimed in.

Pandimala shook her helm and said, "No they did not. The other members of the council who are not present were the ones that attacked both myself and Malwing. Don't you think that I would have already taken care of these bots if they had been the ones who had attacked both myself and my sparkling?"

The crowd looked stunned at that and, for a click, none of them spoke. But, a different Autobot who hadn't spoken yet stepped forward and said, "You could have just been manipulated by them to say this stuff. I think that you might be just as insane,"

Of course, the mech didn't get any farther with that statement when Pandimala, who had actually managed to get pretty close to the bot before he said that, slammed her clenched servo into his faceplate and sent him flying across the way. A Decepticon then tried to take a swing at her and she took care of him just as effortlessly. With the two of them taken down almost simultaneously, the others hesitated. They did not want to end up like their comrades. Ultra Magnus could not blame them for he had not seen Pandimala this angry in quite some time.

As the two idiotic mechs stood up, Pandimala stated, "Do I look like I am the type of femme who will be manipulated by somebot else's will? Now, these bots are my friends and I hate that you all attacked them. But, even if they were not my friends and had been the ones to attack me, do you all not look!" Pandimala practically snarled the last part of that. Ultra Magnus knew that she hated it when bots didn't check who they were fighting or what all the complications were.

"What are you talking about?" A Decepticon femme asked.

Pandimala glared at the entire crowd before threatening, "Part a path for the council to walk through and if any of you so much as lay a digit on them, your spark is mine." Ultra Magnus shuddered when he realized that she was not playing around.

Luckily for the crowd, they did too and they parted a wide path for the council members. Once the circle of members made it through, Pandimala moved to where the entire crowd could see both herself and the council before saying, "Knockout, can you come out and show these bots what the risked when they so foolishly 'confronted' you all."

The area was deathly silent and they all watched as the council parted a path for the mech that was still in the middle. The red medic council bot then walked out, his arms clutching the little sparkling to his chestplate, before turning to the crowd.

The entire crowd let out gasps of shock as they realized what they had done, what they had almost done.

"Yes, when you attacked these bots, you attacked my sparkling. Now, since none of these bots were injured, I will allow you all off with a warning. Of course, that is if Ultra Magnus and Megatron here agree." Pandimala stated before turning to the leaders.

Megatron nodded and said, "Since Pandimala, in my opinion, was the most affected by this and because she has allowed you off with one of her warnings, then I will agree. Though I give my own warning. If it happens again, I will deal with my troops in my own way."

Ultra Magnus understood Megatron's statement quite well and felt the same. Though, he said, "Pandimala has spoken for me as well and Megatron has voiced the way that I will handle the Autobots underneath my command if this is to ever happen again. But, I will add one thing." He then paused before saying, "You all must learn to see a situation before you act upon it. If you would have studied that news bulletin you would have known that none of these council mechs and council femmes were a part of the ones that attacked Pandimala and betrayed us. If you would have seen Malwing before you all surrounded these bots, you wouldn't have upset Pandimala as you now have. Think about that please."

Pandimala then stepped forward some more, Malwing now in her arms, before saying, "Now here is my warning and, while it might seem cruel, it is for I can keep you safe from my obvious anger when people I care about are threatened." She then paused and Ultra Magnus shuttered when she pulled another of her famous death glares and he could see that they all were fearful as well. "If I so much as hear of another event like this against anybot that has not fallen out of graces with me, then I will hunt down whatever bots are responsible for it. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

Ultra Magnus was not surprised when the whole assembly of the mob, both Autobot and Decepticon, nodded as one. There was no such thing as a nice glare from Pandimala. He was almost positive that she could give Ratchet a run for his credits. Actually, though he would swear on his spark that he never even thought this, Ultra Magnus was sure that she had the medic beat.

"Ultra Magnus."

Ultra Magnus turned to Alpha Trion in surprise as the council mech addressed him. He was now curious about what he was going to address him about.

"Yes Alpha Trion?" Ultra Magnus asked.

Alpha Trion looked at the council still on their side, who nodded, before turning back to him and saying, "We have all been discussing some things ever since the revelation of Project IOE. Our talks have been more finite ever since our former colleagues attacked Pandimala and Malwing and we have come to a decision."

There was a long pause after that and Ultra Magnus was now very curious about what had been talked about. "Yes Alpha Trion, what is it?"

But, instead of Alpha Trion answering, Botanica stepped in front of him. "You see Ultra Magnus, after going over all the recent events, we the rest of the council have decided that the time of the council has come to a close. We have seen how much of a positive effect it has had on both the Dragon Scouters and the Decepticons to have a single leader who is free from having to answer to another governing body."

"So," Alpha Trion stated, taking over for Botanica. "We have decided to name you the only power on the Autobot side."

Ultra Magnus could only stare in shock. He never thought that the council would ever step aside to allow one bot full control. "I will do my best." He then turned to Pandimala and said, "Contact Zarron and I will contact Mirage and Hound. Inform Zarron to meet us in the command center as soon as he can."

Pandimala nodded and got onto her communicator. As Ultra Magnus started to call Hound, he knew that this would be a very crucial mission and he hoped that the three scouts could pull through.

* * *

**Pandimala: Glad we are going to be striking back at the Virons now. It will feel good to get revenge.**

**Remcy: Um, 'Mala, you might want to hold off on the celebration.**

**Chaom: Why?**

**Casius: Well, Remcy and I were eavesdropping on Authoress and we heard that she was going to try to update again tonight.**

**Remcy: And she only does that when she has something big planned. Something very big.**

* * *

**AN: And here is yet another chapter down. We are so close to the end of this story that I can feel it. As for what Remcy said up above, well, you will have to wait and see. I should have the next chapter finished within an hour so it will be up for your enjoyment, well maybe not enjoyment but at least it will be there to read. Until then though, please read and review. But no flames.**


	25. Three in One

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Remcy: Uh-oh.**

**Ultra Magnus: Uh-oh what Remcy?**

**Remcy: This isn't good.**

**Megatron: What isn't?**

**Remcy: *points* Authoress is in tears.**

***all look to bawling Authoress***

**Pandimala: *worriedly* Oh no.**

* * *

Ch. 25: Three in One

Zarron was deep in thought as he walked down the hall of the temporary command center. When Pandimala had called him and said that he was going to be going on a mission, he had been curious about what it was and had asked her what the mission was. But all that she said was that she couldn't risk other bots hearing what his mission. That told him right away that it was going to be very important.

When he walked into the command center, he was surprised to see Mirage and Hound in there as well. Actually, now that he looked around, he was also surprised that they were the only bots in the room.

"Do you know why we are here Zarron?" Mirage asked him.

Zarron shook his helm and said, "I was just about to ask you. I got a call from Pandimala and she told me that I was being given a mission."

"That is what Ultra Magnus told us but he wouldn't say what the mission was." Hound stated.

Zarron sighed and said, "Pandimala wouldn't say anything to me either."

Suddenly, the door behind Zarron opened and he turned to see Pandimala, Megatron, and Ultra Magnus walk inside. When the three leaders, for every bot on Cybertron had heard that Ultra Magnus had been made complete leader of the Autobots, entered the room he watched as they went and stood on the other side of the holo-viewer in the center of the room.

"What is the mission you were talking about Pandimala?" Zarron asked.

Pandimala looked at him and activated the holo-viewer before saying, "As you three may well know, there are hostages in the city of Praxus."

Mirage nodded and said, "Yeah, it was kind of hard not to hear about it. A lot of bots have been talking about sneaking in there anyways."

Megatron then took over and said, "We heard about those and have tried to discourage any bots to go through with their scheme. But, lately, we have been planning the retaking of Cybertron from the Virons."

"What does that have to do with us?" Hound asked.

Ultra Magnus then took over. "Well, you three are some of, if not the, best scouts that we have. Your skills are the best and we need those skills for this mission."

Pandimala then took it from him and said, "Your mission is to sneak into Praxus and learn everything about their numbers and, if you can, get the hostages out of there alive and well. We do not want the Virons hurting them or using them as bartering chips."

Zarron nodded and said, "I'm in."

He was glad when Mirage and Hound answered at the same time. "I'm in too."

Pandimala nodded and said, "Good, your mission begins immediately and you will leave as soon as you are ready. Do not let anybot else know what your mission is because I do not want this mission to be compromised."

The three mechs nodded before they left. They then got ready and started to head out. After about three cycles of driving, the team made it safely to the outside of Praxus.

"You two ready for this?" Hound asked.

Zarron nodded and said, "Frag yes. We are going to get that information and free those hostages before they even realize that we have been here."

Mirage smirked at that and then added, "What are you waiting for then mechs? Let's go get this mission done."

Zarron nodded and so the three of them snuck into the foreboding city.

* * *

The three scouts were already four cycles into their mission and Ultra Magnus could not help but feel worried for them. They were going into hostile territory with virtually no backup and he had been one of the ones to send them there.

"Ultra Magnus, are you alright?"

Ultra Magnus turned to see Megatron standing in the doorway to the rec room. The Decepticon leader and he had, surprisingly, grown into close friends and the two would sometimes talk if something was bothering them because they could both understand the other's situation.

"Just worried about those three mechs. I hope that they will be alright." Ultra Magnus confided.

Megatron let out a small laugh and said, "Magnus, if those three were good enough to beat that level you told me about, then they are going to be just fine. Plus, when I was fighting them on Earth, I was impressed with Zarron. He could still manage to sneak behind me even in the heat of fighting. It was like I wasn't even a threat almost and he was just doing a training exercise."

Ultra Magnus smirked at that. "I guess you're right. Zarron was always helping bots at the scout school whenever he could. That's how he met Mirage and Hound. The two of them were struggling because they were messing up on the small things and we were afraid that we were going to have to kick them out. But then Zarron came and they changed drastically. They went from the worst bots in the class to the top of the top."

A peaceful silence then fell between them and Ultra Magnus took in every click of it. All of this stress was doing havoc on his systems and he wasn't liking it. Not one bit.

"Ultra Magnus, I always hear stories about the bots that the Scouters helped while they were here. Do you know anything about their enemies? I don't need any more surprise enemies coming up on our radar from them."

Ultra Magnus thought on that for a click. While he knew that the Scouters had enemies, naming them off was another thing. "Well, you have heard of Pitch, Burnsport, Windbreaker, Firefog, Thunderwave, and Spittor. The first five were, and still are the enemies of the Guardians and you know Spittor's story with Balm. Remcy, well, I can't say much about his because I don't know the details. But, from what I heard, this bot hated both sides of the war and wanted to sabotage it by destroying each side's communication feed. Remcy found out and confronted the bot but the mech tried to processor hack him. Remcy was in the infirmary for three solar cycles. But, by the time he got out and told us about the mech, the mech was gone. I don't even remember the mech's name now."

Ultra Magnus then sighed before saying, "You know Pandimala and Sentinel so I don't need to go into that. Balm also had a few run ins with a group of triplet mechs called the Root brothers. As far as I know, they aren't related to Toxic Root but they are deadly. Their names are Blood Root, Spark Root, and Lock Root. I don't know anything else about them and I haven't heard anything from them since Balm left. And then, there is Zarron."

"Why did you say Zarron's sentence like that?" Megatron questioned.

Ultra Magnus sighed and said, "Well, Zarron hid the fact that a mech named Helex was giving him trouble since the first day of his time at the scout school. Even Mirage and Hound didn't know about it for a while from what I heard. It seemed that every time that I would see Zarron, he would be walking around with a few new dents and sometimes even a few scrapes with dried energon over them. I tried to confront him about it when I would see him but he always shied away. I eventually contacted Pandimala and asked her to come and talk to him. And even then, well at first, he wouldn't talk to her. It took both her and Tana to get him to tell about the beatings that he was taking from Helex. When asked why he wasn't fighting back, he said he didn't want his new friends hurt by Helex. Well, we couldn't do anything against Helex by the time we found out because he had already graduated. But, I don't think Zarron ever got over the beatings that he took from that mech."

Megatron nodded and Ultra Magnus felt relief.

"Ultra Magnus, are you there?"

Ultra Magnus recognized Pandimala's voice immediately and answered his comm. link. "I'm here 'Mala. What is it?"

"I was thinking about our alliance. Since the war broke out, I feel that we may need to rename it and have it like a faction name." Pandimala stated.

Megatron, who must have been in on the talk as well, nodded and said, "Very well, but would we call ourselves?"

"The Triune Alliance since there are three factions in this alliance and there is one leader each." Pandimala stated.

"A very sound idea Pandimala." Ultra Magnus stated. "I think that we should all meet up and seal the deal. How about in the courtyard in fifteen clicks?"

"Meet you there." Pandimala stated before hanging up.

* * *

She was glad that they were re-solidifying the alliance. This would help the war effort if the populace saw that the leaders were still cooperating with each other. If they didn't think that the higher-ups were getting along, then they might become unruly themselves and she didn't want to risk that. Since Malwing was with Chaom, Pandimala stood and walked out of her front door before making her way to the courtyard. It was about a fifteen click walk but she knew that it would help her to clear her processor if she walked instead of flying or driving.

As she walked, Pandimala found her thoughts drifting to a scenario that she had seen played in her helm over and over since the nightmare she had about Cybertron disintegrating. It seemed like her dream had been a foretelling of this new war that was on them. She was now afraid that, if she did not stop this war soon, that Cybertron would fall apart like it had in her dream. She couldn't let that happen, no matter what.

When she arrived at the courtyard, Pandimala smiled when she saw Megatron and Ultra Magnus. But, she immediately became confused when she saw a camera bot hovering above them. Lifting an optic ridge, Pandimala asked, "What's with the camera bot?"

Megatron motioned to Ultra Magnus and said, "He thought of it. Figured we could inform everybot else by broadcasting this live on all the stations. This little bot is connected to every station."

Pandimala smirked and said, "That, is not a bad idea. Not a bad idea at all." She then turned to Ultra Magnus and said, "Ultra Magnus, Megatron; in light of recent events, we three leaders have agreed to revitalize our alliance, to formally give it a name, and to mark of all of our troops so all three may be known as one."

Megatron and Ultra Magnus both nodded and Ultra Magnus said, "We have agreed."

Megatron then added, "While a new mark will be placed below the current insignia that you already possess. We do not want to forget about our pasts. We do not want to repeat the same mistakes again. The mark will be a simple infinity symbol underneath the one you currently possess."

Pandimala then motioned for the other two leaders to join her so they were in a circle. She then said, "We are a new alliance, forged through the struggles of the past and the support of the one before this. We will no long be separated by separate faction names. From now on, we are the Triune Alliance and any who wish to join us may. And whoever wishes to fight against us had better come prepared for a fight worth remembering for we will never go quietly into the night. We will always be here, giving hope to all of the beings of the universe. We will not stand for oppression and we will hit those who we count as enemies with a fury that will never be matched."

Putting her right servo in the middle, Pandimala smiled at the two leaders and said, "We are one."

Ultra Magnus, who was on her right, smiled and put his right servo in the middle before saying, "We are one."

Megatron, the final of the three, put his right servo in the middle before nodding and saying, "We are one."

The three of them then stood there in a peaceful silence. Listening to the sounds around her, Pandimala felt as if the entire pace of existence had stopped for this momentous occasion.

Of course, it had to end with something. But, Pandimala did not expect it to be a siren blaring. Getting on her communicator, Pandimala called the one bot that she knew had the answers. "Remcy, what is going on?"

It took a click before Remcy finally responded. "Zarron just called in and we are bringing the hostages back now. The alarm is to tell bots that the teleport system is being used for this emergency and is to not be used for anything else until all of the bots are safely through."

"Well, let's make a small exception to that. Teleport Ultra Magnus, Megatron, and myself to the arrival location immediately." Pandimala ordered.

"Roger that boss." Remcy stated before closing the link.

"Hang on mechs. The hostages are coming through the teleport." Pandimala said as a warning.

The two leaders nodded in understanding before the scene before them changed. About a nano-click later, Pandimala found herself in a room with about ten other bots, bots she knew had been hostages. Glancing around though, she did not see Zarron. As a matter of fact, she didn't see Mirage and Hound either.

"Where is the retrieval team?" Ultra Magnus asked the bots.

One femme, a small car femme colored turquoise and silver, said, "My designation is Silverfin. The two who saved us brought us here and then said that they had to go back for a friend who was distracting one of the Virons."

Pandimala was worried and so she asked, "Can you describe the bots that saved you?"

Silverfin nodded and said, "One of them was a green alt. terrain vehicle and the other was a white and blue car mech. Why?"

But, Pandimala didn't hear the femme's question as the words before the question hit her like the Pit fell on her itself. Zarron was using himself as bait and he was in danger. He had been one of her longest friends, along with Tana, and he was now risking his spark for a mission that she had given him.

She barely heard Megatron say, "Ok bots, I want you all out of here. Ultra Magnus, contact Beam and tell her to get down here. She should be here if something happens to Zarron." Ultra Magnus nodded and walked away.

Pandimala flinched when Megatron put his servos on both of her shoulders before saying, "Pandimala, we need you with us right now. Zarron is going to survive this."

Pandimala nodded, slowly coming out of her stupor, before she turned and said, "I just hope that,"

But, before she could say anything more, Remcy came over the loudspeaker and say, "Teleport coming in from Praxus and we need a med team there stat!"

Pandimala felt her sparkbeat increase as she waited for the bots to appear. As the shimmer of the teleport appeared, Pandimala felt her spark freeze. She didn't even realize that Beam was next to her until the femme yelled in agonizing despair.

"ZARRON!"

* * *

_Half a Cycle Earlier_

Zarron fought to keep his intakes level as the three of them made it through the darkened halls of the Praxus med center. They had already scouted out the city and found what the major attack points should be and now they were going to free the hostages. From what they had already overheard from some loose glossa guards, the hostages were not far from their current location. They just had a few more hallways to traverse.

"Hey Zarron, how much farther do we have?" Mirage asked.

"We should arrive in about five clicks if we keep up at this pace." Zarron answered.

"What are we going to do when we find the hostages?" Hound asked.

Zarron thought about that before saying, "We will send in for a teleport for them. All of the hostages will go through the first teleport and then we will go through the second just in case we have to fight some of the Virons."

Mirage and Hound nodded before the three of them continued in silence. They knew how key silence was during a mission. It was what got many skilled bots killed. The enemy would hear them, even if it was only a small phrase or even a word.

A sound of pedesteps suddenly came to Zarron's audio receptors and he held up a servo for silence. They had stopped in a fork in the path and Zarron was trying to figure out which path the pedes were coming from. It took him a click but he finally figured out that it was coming from the right. Unfortunately, that was also the path that they needed to take to get to the hostages.

"Be ready. We have to take this bot out quickly." Zarron whispered to his two friends.

They nodded and took out their weapons, Mirage a sword and Hound a dagger, and of course he took out his scimitar, before they stilled, waiting for the bot to show themselves.

Zarron internally growled as he caught sight of Rook coming down the hall, his helm turned so he couldn't see them, yet. If that punk was here, then that meant that Helex was here as well.

Right before Zarron gave the order to attack, though, Rook turned and caught sight of them.

"Scrap now!" Zarron whisper-yelled to the other two.

They didn't hesitate and they soon fell upon the mech. But, Zarron felt his spark sink when he heard Rook say, presumably through a comm. link, "Helex, Zarron is here,"

Before the mech could get another word out, Zarron knocked him into stasis lock. The three of them then dragged the mech's chassis into a nearby closet. Once the door was reclosed, Mirage let out a huff of anger. "Frag it! We've been made. We had better get to the hostages quickly and hope that we can get them out of here in time."

But, Zarron shook his helm and said, "No, you two haven't been made yet. Rook only got my designation off before we silenced him. You two know that Helex loves to torture me if he can so he will most likely not tell the other Virons that I am here. That will give you two more time to get the hostages out of here."

"Zarron, but that means that you are going to be facing him alone. What happens if you get in trouble?" Hound asked.

Zarron knew that they were worried for him but he had to distract Helex. "I'll be fine."

Mirage sighed, earning a look from Hound, before he said, "Fine, but we are coming right back to get you as soon as we get the hostages back to Kaon."

Zarron knew he had to give them some leeway so he nodded and said, "Fine, but will you two get out of here before Helex gets here?"

The two Autobots in front of him nodded slowly before they ran down the hall. Zarron knew that he didn't have to move because Helex was most likely honed in on his position. The mech hated him as much as Zarron hated him and Zarron knew that this fight was going to be deadly.

The sound of heavy footsteps had Zarron raising his scimitar. This was it. He had to make sure that Helex did not get anywhere near Mirage and Hound. When the gray and deep blue mech appeared in front of him, broadsword out, Zarron let out a growl. He changed the grip on his scimitar so he was ready for the fight.

"What a surprise it was to hear my protégé say that you were here of all places. I just had to come and take care of you personally. Since there is a lack of Rook here, I will venture to say that you have kept him from interrupting?" Helex started.

Zarron narrowed his optics. "If I did you will not know."

Helex shook his helm and made a tutting sound. "Zarron, Zarron. I think that spending too much time away from my teaching servo has made you forget your place." He then narrowed his optics and growled, "You are just a pathetic scrawny good for nothing piece of scrap that belongs underneath my pedes. No matter how hard you try, no matter how many challenges you pass or how many 'friends' you make, at the end of the solar cycle you will just be a worthless posterbot that will never make a mark."

If Zarron had still been in the scout training academy, he would have taken those words to spark and would have been depressed for solar cycles. But, after accomplishing all that he had, Helex's words only stung as a reminder of how weak his resolve was when he was younger.

"Enough talk Helex." Zarron hissed. He then shut off his bond to Beam. He didn't want her feeling pain if he got hurt.

Helex nodded and said, "Quite right. I have some hostages to torture for information and you are delaying me." Helex then lunged.

Zarron used his agility advantage to quickly dodge to the side. But, when he went to back up, the wall hitting his winglets reminded him that he didn't have enough space to maneuver very well. He was so distracted by this revelation that he almost took a swipe to the shoulder from Helex's sword. Luckily, he had seen it out of the corner of his optic.

But, now he was off balance. Every time he tried to fix himself, he found himself being slammed in the side by Helex's clenched servo. Luckily, he had been able to dodge the sword. Otherwise, he would be in very deep trouble.

A slice to his side caused Zarron to scream out in pain and back up. Finally having a pause in the fighting, Zarron looked down and felt his optics slightly widen when he saw a large gash traversing the side of his abdomen and curving near the front.

"Hmm, seems as if you are starting to weaken Zarron. Good. I don't want to spend any more time on a piece of scrap like you then I have to." Helex taunted before swinging at Zarron again.

But, this time, Zarron had time to regain his balance so he brought up his scimitar and deflected the blow before delivering a quick and decisive gash on Helex's arm.

Helex growled at him and glanced at the injury before saying, "Now you are starting to become a problem. And I like to deal with problems indefinitely so they won't become bigger later."

Zarron wasn't prepared for Helex suddenly moving with agility to match his own and he was now doing everything he could to keep Helex from dealing major damage, even though he couldn't stop the occasional scrape.

After what seemed like forever, though it was probably only a few clicks, Zarron and Helex separated to catch a breather. When Zarron looked into Helex's optics, though, he saw a look that scared him. It was one that said that he knew something that would be dangerous to Zarron.

"Seems you are fighting well Zarron." Helex started. "I've heard you have a bondmate now." Zarron felt his spark freeze. What was Helex bringing up his mate for? "Maybe after I'm done with you, I'll go and pay her a visit."

Zarron felt as if the whole beat of time just stopped. It was like nothing was going on around him. He couldn't think. But, that feeling only lasted for a nano-click. Then, blind fury filled him and he glared at Helex before letting out a feral snarl and lunging at the Viron, ready to go in for the kill.

The sound of a sword slicing through metal rang through the air. All movement ceased. The two mechs froze and stared at each other for the briefest nano-click.

"No." Zarron gasped as he staggered away from Helex, freeing his chestplate from the mech's blade. Zarron tried to focus ahead but he saw that everything was fading. He barely registered that he had fallen on his back until he saw Helex staring down at him with a victorious smirk.

Helex then leaned down next to his audio receptor and whispered in a taunting, victorious way, "I want you to go offline knowing that you failed in your duty to protect your bondmate. And don't worry," He then leaned in closer so that Zarron could feel the mech's intakes against his chassis and the mech had to place his servo on Zarron's chestplate directly over his spark. "I will let your bondmate now how pitifully you fell while her energon stains my servos and she is dying on the floor in front of me."

Zarron could barely get off a growl as the mech walked away. His vision was fading and Helex looked like a blur. If he listened carefully, Zarron could hear his sparkbeat gradually slow down as he lost energon. Warmth started to flow through his systems and Zarron suddenly just wanted to shut down his optics and recharge.

"Zarron!"

The yelling of his designation by a familiar voice forced Zarron to resist the lull of recharge but he could not move to see the bot who called him. Luckily, two familiar figures stepped into his view.

"Just stay out of recharge Zarron." The same voice that sounded before said through Mirage. Mirage then looked at Hound and said, "Hound, call in a teleport and tell them to have a med team there immediately."

Hound nodded and seemed to be talking but Zarron couldn't hear him. The warm comforting feeling then ran through his systems again as he laid there but Mirage's warning to stay out of recharge had him forcing himself to stay awake. He knew his friend had a reason for saying that and he would listen.

"Ok, help me pick him up." Mirage told Hound.

Zarron watched as the now blurry image of Hound nodded and both mechs put their servos next to him. Hound's were by his upper back and his helm while Mirage's were by his lower back and upper legs.

As soon as they started to lift his chassis, an intense pain blazed through his circuits.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

He never knew that he could let off such a spark stopping scream of agony. But, the scream was nowhere close to describing the burning pain that was roaring through his chassis, making every circuit blaze up as if being slowly smelted in the scrap yard.

Zarron couldn't stop himself from thrashing as the two bots held him up. Somewhere in the back of his processor, Zarron knew that they were doing the right thing in holding him the way they were. But he couldn't bring that thought to the forefront of his thoughts. The only thing he could do was continue to scream as he saw everything around him start to go fuzzy. Warning signs were blazing through his vision and the only reason that he realized that he was being teleported was because he could still see some light, barely.

When the teleport finally stopped, he saw the world around him go dark. The last thing he heard was the voice of the one he loved scream his name in agonizing despair.

* * *

***all bots deathly silent***

**Authoress: *crying eyes out and bawling***

***all bots look at her with a fearful look***

**Chaom: *whispers* If she couldn't control this, then what hope is there that she will be able to save him?**

**Pandimala: There is always hope. **

**Authoress: *stops crying***

**Chaom: Doesn't seem like much.**

**Authoress: *wails and begins to cry again***

* * *

**AN: Ok, I know that I left you all on a cliffhanger but I'll try to update ASAP. But, since I haven't started the next chapter, I have to leave you all on this cliffhanger. Gosh, I was crying as I was typing this. Until next I post, please read and review. But no flames. *goes off and cries some more***


	26. Scarred Victory

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Remcy: Ok, what has taken so long with this updating?**

**Authoress: I have been on vacation for the weekend bots. At least I got quite a few chapters finished.**

**Pandimala: How many did you get done?**

**Authoress: You shall see Pandimala.**

* * *

**AN: WARNING! There may be some parts in this chapter that are borderline M rated. I'm not quite sure but I want to warn you just in case. There is some close forced interfacing that is present so I want to make sure that you are all warned about this. **

* * *

Ch. 26: Scarred Victory

Pitch growled as he paced in Fortress Maximus. It had been five solar cycles since Praxus had gone back into the Alliance's servos and he was now very upset. When Helex had reported that the scout, Zarron, was pretty much offline, he had been preparing for a major strike at Kaon because he believed that they would be weakened by their grief for their comrade. He thought this because he knew how close Pandimala was to the scout. But, the Alliance had done the opposite of what he had thought and had attacked Praxus immediately, taking the city back. Over the past few days, the Alliance had been taking back Cybertron. The only stronghold that Pitch had was Iacon now and he was not going to lose it.

"Pitch, we have a report from our scouts." Sentinel stated as he entered the room.

"Tell me that it is good news Sentinel. I need to hear some after all of our losses." Pitch implored.

He smirked when Sentinel nodded. "Very good news. Our scouts have seen the Dragon Scouters dividing their main fighting force and sending them to the separate cities. They believe that means that Pandimala and the Alliance do not plan on attacking Iacon any time soon."

Pitch let off a smirk at that. The Alliance must have finally realized that Iacon would not be as easy to take as those other cities were. Iacon was his key prize. It had been the beacon of hope during the first war and had also been a beacon of strength for the Alliance. He needed to hold this city for as long as he could.

"Sentinel, how are our numbers looking?" Pitch questioned.

"Well, we roughly have about two thirds the number of the Alliance. It has been hard trying to find bots who are willing to go against Pandimala, Megatron, and Ultra Magnus. If it was individuals, then we would have more. But, since they are in an alliance together, the bots who would have come will not risk it." Sentinel grumbled.

Pitch hated this Alliance. It cost him members each day, either from being offlined or in the fact that they would not go against all three leaders at once. That fact was a sore point that dug at Pitch's spark each solar cycle. The Virons had allowed the Alliance to grow for too long and they had strengthened their bonds.

"Frag it. We have to take the Alliance down, or make them take themselves down. If only we had succeeded in offlining Pandimala and her sparkling when we had the chance, then this would not be happening and we would be the rulers of a strong Cybertron." Pitch stated.

Sentinel nodded and said, "Maybe we should refocus our plans on Pandimala. If we can take her down, we can retake the cities we lost and maybe even take control of Kaon."

Pitch mulled over Sentinel's words before nodding and saying, "I agree. We have to take Pandimala out of the picture. But the how is still a problem."

"I think I may have a solution." Sentinel hinted with a smirk.

"How?" Pitch asked.

Sentinel then walked closer to Pitch before whispering the idea. When Sentinel finished, Pitch smirked as well. It was a very good plan that should work. That Alliance would fall for this ploy completely.

* * *

"What's our status Remcy?" Megatron asked the Dragon Scouter intelligence agent. So far, their progress in gaining back Cybertron had been very rapid. After they had taken Praxus, they had figured out the basis of how the Virons worked and so they were able to formulate a strategy based on that.

"All of our troops have separated like planned and the Virons are none the wiser. Pandimala is waiting for the signal to start Operation: Iacon." Remcy stated.

Megatron nodded and said, "Tell her that I'll contact her and Ultra Magnus when I am ready. I want to stop by med bay first."

Remcy nodded in understanding before saying, "Ok. And Megatron, it is not your fault. As I have been telling Pandimala and Ultra Magnus, you all made the right move in send the three of them into Praxus. Because of that move, we have been able to retake much of Cybertron and we will get back Iacon soon. Zarron knew the risks when he accepted the mission."

Megatron simply shook his helm before he walked out of the room. His processor had not prepared him for when Zarron had been teleported into the room, Mirage and Hound holding him, he saw the condition the screaming mech was in. Energon was everywhere and Pandimala, who was on the verge of breaking down, was holding back Beam, who was screaming and reaching toward her bondmate.

The sight of Beam alone rendered his spark into millions of pieces. While he himself did not have a bondmate as of yet, he had studied up on the effects of when a bondmate was injured and he had seen the pain many times in the bots that served underneath his command.

Walking into the med bay, Megatron sighed when he saw that Zarron was still unconscious and Beam was keeping her vigil next to him. She would not leave his side no matter what.

"How is he doing Beam?" Megatron asked her.

Beam looked at him and said, "Well, sometimes, I can feel him through our bond. It is a small feeling of encouragement but it is still there. But, the longest that one of those has ever lasted was twenty nano-clicks. He is very weak." She then turned back to Zarron.

Megatron walked to Zarron's other side and said, "I did not mean for this to happen."

Beam's laugh surprised him and he knew that he had to have a surprised look on his faceplate. "Megatron, Zarron wouldn't have taken this mission if he didn't want to take the risks that came with it."

Megatron sighed and said, "You are the second bot today to tell me that. Remcy told me that right before I came here. But, what I really want to know is who attacked him."

"It's nice…nice to hear you laugh dear."

Both himself and Beam jumped when they heard the bot currently laying on the med berth say that. Beam smiled and gave him a light hug before saying, "Oh Zarron. I was so worried."

Zarron lifted one of his arms and gave her a hug before his arm went back to his side. Megatron then watched as their optics met before Zarron said, "To answer your question. Helex was the one that put me here."

Megatron remembered the bot's name from what Ultra Magnus had told him about the enemies of the Scouters. His optics automatically narrowed in anger. It seemed that there were many enemies making appearances. These bots seemed to be causing many problems for their troops. "Tell me what happened."

As Zarron recounted what happened, both he and Beam growled at many of the parts. The tale was very gruesome at parts. Megatron felt shock and he saw Beam's optics widen when Zarron said that Helex had promised to pay Beam a 'visit'.

Once the tale was done, Beam turned to him and said, "Megatron, you need to go get in place. The others are waiting for you to begin Operation: Iacon."

"Wait, what is going on?" Zarron asked.

Beam placed a servo on his chestplate and said, "I'll explain everything once we get Megatron here to get out."

The look that he got from Zarron was enough to get Megatron to raise his servos defensively and say, "Alright I'm leaving. I'll tell Pandimala and Ultra Magnus that you are awake." He then walked out of the door. His next stop was the teleport room. His assignment was going to be right outside of Iacon's north side, which was where the Guardian headquarters were.

The bots that he was to command for the first part were Starscream, Optimus, Elita, Ratchet, Hindsight, Tune, Foresight, Scale, and Lugnut. Their mission was to secure Guardian HQ and then use that to teleport more of their troops into the city and also serve as a med center.

Speaking of their objectives, they were split up into four teams. Besides himself, the leaders of these teams were Pandimala, Ultra Magnus, and Chaom. Malwing was staying in Kaon with Malice and Pandemonium.

Ultra Magnus' team consisted of Blackout, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Team Galaxy, Casius, and Lockdown. Their primary objective was to regain the Hall of Records so they could have another base of operations and another med center.

Chaom's team was made up of Cyclonas, Strika, Ness, Prowl, Jazz, Knockout, Breakdown, Oilslick, and Razor. Their objective was to retake the Cyber-Dojo so they could have access to the weaponry that was locked inside and to have yet another rest station.

After those three teams were set up in their locations, they were to send in troops and go help Pandimala's team take on Fortress Maximus. On Pandimala's team were Balm, Stormfire, Tana, Blackbit, Blitzwing, Mirage, Hound, Chromia, and Radar. They were to start the main attack on Fortress Maximus from the inside and see if they could not somehow shut down Viron communications. They were all hoping that they would be able to prevent the Virons from escaping if the converged on them at once.

When Megatron arrived at the teleport pad, he typed in his coordinates before stepping on the platform. It amazed him how the technology used in the teleports worked. But, as the scene in front of him changed, he pushed those thoughts to the back of his processor.

Glancing at his team, he got on his communicator and said, "This is Megatron. Just wanted to say that Zarron is now awake and we are ready on our end."

* * *

"Ok then, Operation: Iacon is a go." Pandimala answered into her comm. link. After she said that, she shut it off and turned to her team before saying, "Ok then; let's go give these Virons a wake up as to what happens when you attack us."

Her team nodded before they all split up. While they had been waiting for Megatron, they had decided that splitting up would be the best option. Pandimala went with Tana, Balm, Mirage, and Blitzwing to take find the main communication hub and shut it down.

Tana, for one, had been glad that they were splitting up. She knew that a team of ten would be too noticeable and the Virons might catch on to their plans before they could get close enough to their objective. She really loved her sub-team because Mirage could turn invisible so that made them look like an even smaller group.

"Balm, I want your scanners going on full. I want to know as soon as we get close to the communication room." Pandimala stated.

Balm nodded and said, "If they haven't changed the location of the communication room, it shouldn't be too hard to find."

"The only thing we need to worry about is any Virons that we run into on our way there." An invisible Mirage stated.

Tana mashed her fist into her opposite servo before saying, "That's why Blitzwing, Pandimala, and I are here. We have to keep you two safe and there are none better than us."

Blitzwing nodded and said, **"I vould love to see zem try and get in our vay."**

Pandimala nodded and said, "Definitely. But, we need to get to that communications room first."

"Easy. I went there often to get some assignments so I know the way. We just need to follow this hallway." Mirage stated.

The others nodded and started to traverse the path that Mirage said they needed to follow. As they walked though, Tana couldn't help but let her thoughts go to Zarron. He was one of her best friends and she had been shocked to hear about the damage that he had. She was very glad to hear that he was now awake. But, that did not mean that she was not going to make those Virons pay for what they did to him.

**Tana dear, you need to stay focused. I know you are upset about Zarron, we all are, but we need this mission to go smoothly and we can't do that if your anger is taking over. **Blackbit said over their bond.

Tana smiled sadly. **I know sweetspark, but I can't help it. I practically grew up with him. Pandimala and I both did and it hurts to think that he was in the condition he was in. Shoot, Balm was so torn up about it that she couldn't help in the surgery. It is hard for all of us.**

She wanted to say more but her team soon arrived at the communication room door. **I'll get back to you Blackbit. We are at the communication room and I have to concentrate. Love you.**

**Alright, love you too dear. **Blackbit said before the bond went silent.

Tana then took out her morning star as they all made a semicircle around the door.

"_Ladies first!" _Blitzwing said with a smile.

Tana nodded before she took out her flail and swung it at the door. She was proud that the door flew off of its hinges. But, as they ran inside, she growled when her optics landed at the bots in the center of the room. While there were other bots inside, Tana was more interested in the main ones. In the middle of the group was Sentinel. She could tell by the glare and growl coming from Pandimala that she was none too pleased to see him.

Then next to him was Helex. Seemed that Mirage would be able to take revenge for her from how his growls were filling the room and his daggers shot daggers at said scout.

But, Tana's attention was solely focused on Pitch. The mech had attacked them one too many times and she was going to make him pay for all of the evils that he had ever done. She remembered the first time that she had seen Chem. She could tell that the visor that was over his optic was not natural and she had asked the others about it. But, not even Blackbit would tell her. She had to go up to Chem and ask him personally what had happened and she had been horrified when he had recalled the events to her.

Tana jumped, though, when Balm let out a fierce snarl. And, from the shocked looks from everybot else on their side, she wasn't the only one. At first, Tana wasn't sure who her normally reserved and shy friend could show that much hate for, except for Spittor and Tana did not see that disgusting mech here. When she followed her friends gaze though, her sight landed on three identical car mechs and they all had dangerous smirks on their faceplates.

"Well look here brothers, seems like the little medic femme is back." The one that was black with blue markings.

The three of them then chuckled and Balm's optics hardened.

"I am surprised to see you all here. Especially since there are so few of you. I thought that the Alliance would have sent in more bots then you all to retake their beloved Iacon." Pitch stated.

Tana growled at him and said, "Well, we couldn't wait for them to get their helms screwed on straight so we came here before you Virons could do any more damage to the city." She wanted to say so much more but she had to go along with the plan.

Sentinel scoffed at that and said, "Well, maybe you will finally learn your lesion in going into situations helms first after we are done with you all."

Pandimala growled at him before saying, "That is a lesson that you should learn for yourself."

"Well, I thought that they would have learned their lesson after I offlined that scout of theirs. I heard he was quite close to you all." Helex taunted with a smirk.

Mirage growled. "Why don't you let me wipe that smirk off of your mistaken faceplates? Zarron is awake and doing just fine and now I can rip that helm off of your chassis."

The air then grew tense around of them all. They were all just waiting for somebot to make the first move. But, no one seemed to want to take that first lunge.

Well, that was, until, the three brothers smirked at each other and the one that was black with gray markings said, "Well, let's get this started. We want to finish what we started with that medic femme." The three of them then launched at Balm. Tana went over to help but was stopped when the other Virons followed the brothers into an attack. So, since Pitch was charging straight at her, Tana raised her morning star and charged at the mech.

* * *

Pandimala snarled at Sentinel as her sword met his lance. She was going to make that mech pay for what he had betrayed and for attacking her and threatening her sparkling. That was crossing a line. No one messed with her family and got away with it.

"What's the matter Pandimala? You seem to be a little distracted." Sentinel tried to taunt as he swung at her helm.

But, she blocked it with ease and said, "No, I was just wondering when the fight was going to start."

She was glad when he looked fragged off at that. She knew that he hated it when bots teased him about how he was fighting. He had always reacted badly by it. Ever since boot camp as far as she knew.

"I'm holding my own against you Pandi. That has to count for something according to your team." Sentinel shot back.

Pandimala shook her helm and said, "If I was actually trying, then this would be impressive." And it was true. While she wanted to rip the mech apart, she had to wait until the other three teams had taken their locations before she could try. Risking a glance around the room, Pandimala was surprised to see another entrance that was hidden by the shadows. There was no door and it seemed to run right into a hallway.

Sentinel growled at that and lunged at her again. Pandimala, of course, easily blocked it and twirled around Sentinel to try and get some better damage on him. But, he reacted faster then she thought he would and actually cut her on her arm.

"Ha, see. I can get through your defenses." Sentinel bragged.

Pandimala shook her helm and was about to take a swipe at him when she was suddenly thrown to the side from a blast. The thing hurt like the pit and, when she turned, she saw one of those triplets aiming a smoking gun at her while his brothers fought Balm.

Thinking about Balm, Pandimala had been extremely shocked when her friend had snarled at the three brothers. Pandimala couldn't think of how those three had gotten Balm so upset with them. But, from the way that the brothers had been talking, they had met Balm before in the past.

Pandimala then saw the mech turn and aim his blaster at Tana.

"Tana helms up!" Pandimala yelled. Sentinel was holding his blaster to her so she couldn't move. She knew that he wanted to offline her but she also figured that Pitch wanted them all restrained before giving Sentinel the ok to offline her.

Tana turned the direction of the brother just as he fired. Tana had no time to dodge and she was thrown back against the wall. Pitch then aimed his blaster at her. Taking a glance around, Pandimala's spark fell when she saw that almost every other bot was at blaster point as well. Surprisingly, the only one who was not was Balm.

Pandimala had never seen Balm look so enraged and that rage was probably what was allowing her to continue to dodge the attacks of the brothers. But, just as she thought that, the brother that was black with silver markings back slapped her across the faceplate and sent her into the arms of the brother with the gray markings. Pandimala's optics widened in fear for her friend when she saw the looks on the three mechs' faceplates. It was a look of, lust, and Pandimala was now panicking for her friend. Whatever they tried to do in the past, they must be trying to do again now.

* * *

Balm struggled against the mech who was holding her. She knew what would happen to her if she didn't fight them off. And, since she was bonded to Storm, he would feel every horrifying feeling and touch that she would.

"How have you been femme?" The brother with gray markings asked from behind her.

Balm growled at him and said, "I have nothing to say to you Spark Root."

The brother with silver markings chuckled at that and said, "I see that you are still as feisty as ever little medic. That will make this so much more enjoyable."

"Get fragged Lock Root." Balm growled as she continued to struggle against Spark Root.

The final bother walked so he was inches away from her and put a digit underneath her chin before saying, "Oh, but that is what we are planning on doing Balm darling. You should know that."

Balm felt her spark drop in fear and she kicked out at the bot. Her kick successfully hit the bot and she snarled. "Stay away from me if you know what is good for you Blood Root."

Blood Root growled as he tried to stabilize himself. That was a small victory for Balm. Well, that was until Blood Root took two steps toward her and landed a punch on her faceplate, forcing her helm to the side.

**Balm what is happening? **Stormfire asked in a panicked voice through their bond. She could tell from how his thought sounded rushed that he was running somewhere.

But, Balm herself could barely focus her thoughts. **Help me. Root brothers. Please, help me Storm. **Balm then let out a mental sob and sent a feeling of terror run through their bond to him. She had told him what the brothers had tried to do to her and he had seen what they had tried to do when they had bonded.

She felt shock come through Stormfire's side of their bond. **No. **He more thought to himself but Balm still heard it. Feelings of encouragement then came from his side before he said, **Keep them off of you for as long as you can Balm. I am on my way.**

Balm sent a feeling of confirmation through their bond before she refocused her attention on the three brothers. The other two had gotten closer to her and Balm knew that she had to hold them off if she wanted Stormfire to get there in time.

So, she started thrashing around and kicking the mechs. She wanted them to let her go. But, then, the feeling of something sharp against the back of her neck stopped her movements completely. She knew the feeling of a dagger when she felt one.

"Hold still femme or this will hurt a lot more than it already will." Spark Root threatened. Balm shuddered as she felt his breath against the back of her neck. She wanted to start thrashing again but the other two brothers then grabbed hold of her. Lock Root grabbed her shoulder firmly and Blood Root grabbed her waist, stopping all movement.

Balm then felt the dagger leave her neck. She knew that they knew she wouldn't be able to move much, but that didn't mean that she still couldn't.

Balm yelped in disgust and shock when she suddenly felt lips start to kiss the back of her neck. She shuddered when she knew that it was Spark Root. The others then joined him on kissing her neck. Now she was in a panic. This was as far as they were able to go last time and Balm didn't want to know what would happen after this.

"Leave her alone!" Balm heard Tana scream at the mechs.

Balm shuddered when she heard Blood Root chuckle bounce off of her armor as he said, "I would be quiet miss. From what I have heard from Pitch, he has plans for you as well."

The silence that followed told Balm that Tana must be registering what Blood Root said.

Balm shrieked in horror as she felt six servos start to explore her armor. Luckily it was nowhere, delicate, yet but Balm couldn't stop her armor from heating up at the touches.

"Hmm, seems as if the femme is enjoying this." Lock Root chuckled when he paused in his kissing.

Balm growled at them and said, "I am not you slag helms."

Blood Root stared at her for the briefest second before saying, "No, we will save silencing your voice when we get to the interesting part."

Balm felt her spark freeze in terror when he said that. There could only be one thing that he meant when he said that and she did not want this to get that far.

Movement from behind the mechs had her studying the black doorway that seemed to lead down a passageway. Must have been how they were reporting messages right away. A flash of white was all that she saw and she allowed hope to travel through her bond to Stormfire. **Storm, is that you?**

She was glad when she felt a feeling of love travel through the bond before Stormfire responded. **Yes it is love. **He then growled in the bond before saying **Blackbit, Chromia, Hound, and Radar are with me and Blackbit is a little fragged off. But, he is nowhere near as much as I am.**

Balm let off a groan as one of the brothers started to place light touches with his digits on her servos. They were the most sensitive parts of her chassis and she wanted him to stop.

"Get…get away f…from me!" Balm stuttered out. She knew that this was growing really serious really fast.

Lock Root tilted his helm and smirked before saying, "Why would we do that little medic? We are about to get to the good part and this time you will not be getting away."

Balm then saw Stormfire step into the room, though none of the other bots would be able to see him since the three brothers were too busy with her and the others were blinded to him by a jut out in the wall. **Can I let out a laugh dear and tell them you are here?**

**Of course Balm. Just make sure you have fun with it. **Stormfire answered in a happy tone though Balm could see by his faceplates that he was furious.

* * *

Pandimala stared in utter horror as the mechs prepared to force Balm to interface with them. It was immoral and she knew that the pain that both Balm and Stormfire would feel would be enormous. None of them that day would be able to forget what as threatening to happen. Of course, Pandimala was also worried about Tana. That mech Blood Root said that Pitch had hinted of doing something similar to Tana.

Balm's laughter ringing out caused them all to stare at her in utter shock. Even the three mechs currently attacking her paused in their actions and stared at her in surprise. But, Pandimala noticed that the one holding her friend from the back, Spark Root, didn't look up at her, only stared at her armor that was in front of him.

"Wh…What are you laughing at?" Blood Root asked in surprise.

Balm's smirk at that question started to cause Pandimala to question her friend's sanity. These mechs were planning on attacking her in the most brutal and disgusting way possible and yet her friend was smirking.

"Oh, it seems as if Sentinel and Pitch haven't informed you bots about something that has changed since our last…encounter." Balm stated.

From how they had been talking earlier, Pandimala had assumed that the last time they had met had been when Balm was still an apprentice to Ratchet on Cybertron during her time in training to be a Prime. Not much had changed about Balm since then. The only thing that had changed since then that could effect this was…

"And what is that femme? Your mysterious air has intrigued me. What could possibly have changed since our last encounter?"

"Storm."

Lock Root looked confused at that and asked, "What does a storm have to do with what we are doing?"

But, Pandimala knew exactly what, and who, Balm was talking about. That was when her processor went to the opening that she had seen earlier.

Balm let out a humorless scoff before giving an empty smirk and saying, "No, you imbecile. I am not talking about a storm."

"Then what are you talking about femme?" Blood Root demanded, anger now present in his voice.

Pandimala realized that all of the Virons were focused on Balm so she slowly lowered her shoulder cannons. She wanted to be prepared if they got the chance to attack these bots again.

"Me!" A very angry and familiar voice said from the entry.

Lock Root and Blood Root had no time to fully turn around as a flail spiked flail slammed into Lock Root and Blood Root, throwing them off of Balm. Then, almost as soon as the two Root brothers were away from her, Balm took out her saw mod and jabbed it behind her at Spark Root, forcing him to let go of her and retreat next to his brothers.

Stormfire, whose optics Pandimala noticed were almost black, snarled at them with an animalistic fury while standing in front of Balm protectively before growling, "You will never touch her again."

"Who the frag are you?" Blood Root hissed. Pandimala could see that a steady stream of energon was leaking from Lock Root.

Stormfire growled right back at Blood Root and snarled, "I am the weapons specialist for the Dragon Scouters. I am also Stormfire, bondmate to Balm."

The three mechs' optics widened in shock and they were unprepared as Stormfire transformed his servo into a sword and charged at them.

Pandimala took the chance to fire her cannons at both Sentinel and Pitch, causing them to fall back. The others soon joined in on the fighting, Blackbit staying next to Tana the entire time.

But, the fighting lasted only a few clicks before an alarm went off and Pitch let out a growl. "Iacon is lost. All Virons retreat to the asteroid base." Pandimala then jumped in shock as the Virons suddenly vanished. Sentinel and the rogue council members must have given them schematics for the teleport system. That would not be good.

Turning to Balm, Pandimala wanted to run up to her and give her a hug and tell her that everything was going to be fine. But, she could see that Stormfire was still acting very possessive of her and she did not want to get into a fight with him.

**Pandimala, are you all alright? **Chaom asked her.

Pandimala sighed and said, **Physically, I think so. Mentally though, we have a long road to recovery I think.**

**What happened? **Chaom asked. When she recounted the tale to him, Chaom snarled and said, **They tried to do that?**

**Yes, but I think that Balm will survive it. From how she was talking before, these mechs attacked her once before in this way. But, just like this time, they didn't get very far. **Pandimala answered.

Chaom sighed and said, **Well, the Virons have all retreated. Do you have any idea of where they could be?**

**Only that it is on an asteroid. But, there are so many of those that it could take forever in finding it. **Pandimala sighed.

Chaom sent a happy feeling through the bond and said, **Well, the good news is that we now control all of Cybertron again. And, those Virons will never get this back again.**

Pandimala smiled at that. Cybertron was free from the Virons. Now she and Chaom could raise their sparkling in a fear free environment. They would not have to worry about any attacks on her and Pandimala could feel that the days would be getting better quickly. Very quickly.

* * *

**Megatron: Ok, so we have all of Cybertron back under our control.**

**Ultra Magnus: Yes but I am worried about where they went to. We can't let them hide away again and replenish their strength.**

**Pandimala: Well, I hope that Balm will be ok. That was a terrible experience to go through.**

* * *

**AN: And here is part of the awesomely huge update that I am doing. I worked all weekend getting these chapters done. Well, there isn't much for me to say now so please read and review. But no flames.**


	27. Baby Steps

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Ok, so is this going to be a nice chapter.**

**Authoress: I guess I can tell you. Yes, it is going to be a very nice chapter.**

**Chaom: Really?**

**Authoress: *sigh* Really.**

* * *

Ch. 27: Baby Steps

Megatron sighed as he walked through the streets of Iacon. The city looked almost as bad as Kaon used to during the first war. And, though he would never admit this out loud, it scared him. The Virons had turned the once beautiful city in a matter of solar cycles into something that had taken thousands of stellar cycles to happen to Kaon. The fact that the Virons had the power to do that was frightening.

"You two rascals get back here with my wrench right now!" He heard Ratchet's voice yell.

Megatron turned and smiled as he saw Frenzy and Rumble running away from a very upset Ratchet. Those twins were too good at getting items off of bots. Earlier that day, they had almost managed to take Joint's welder but Frenzy had tripped and the two of them had to get out of there.

"Only if you can catch us Hatchet!" Rumble yelled. The twins then laughed as the dodged a shot from Ratchet's electromagnets.

Megatron then watched as a yellow green femme stepped in the twins' path. "Frenzy, Rumble; give Ratchet his wrench back. He needs it to help us fix Iacon. Don't you want Iacon fixed?"

Rumble and Frenzy looked sheepishly at the ground when Balm said that. It had been two solar cycles since the Alliance had taken back Iacon and the femme had recovered quite well from her experience with those triplet brothers. Megatron had been infuriated when he had found out what had happened. That was a very vulgar and low form of attack that Megatron would have offlined any of his troops for if he found out that they did that.

"Yeah but taking that wrench took us forever!" Frenzy wined.

Balm smirked and then took a knee in front of the two mechs and whispered something. When Balm stood up and the two mechs turned around, Megatron felt nervous. The smiles on their faceplates foretold of something terrible and Megatron found himself hoping that he was not the target of what they were planning.

"Here's your wrench back Hatchet." Rumble stated.

"Yeah, sorry for taking it Doc." Frenzy added. Megatron then watched as the two mechs walked halfway to Ratchet and placed the wrench down.

"What are you two planning?" Ratchet asked with worry. He then glanced at Balm and asked with worry, "What did you say to them?"

But, all Balm did in answer was shake her helm, pick up the twins, and run out of there. Yep, that femme had definitely recovered from the attack. Megatron let out a laugh as Ratchet started to chase after them, yelling out in a demanding voice to tell him what they were planning.

"She seems to have recovered nicely."

Megatron turned around to see Starscream standing there. Megatron nodded and his second in command before saying, "Yes, and I am glad that she has too. That femme has been through too much in her short existence to have to be traumatized by the recent attack." Megatron flinched as he said that. He felt bad for what had happened to the medic femme when she had been in the Decepticon brig. He had known that Spittor was dangerous and yet he had failed to check and see if the sick mech had actually gone with them to the battle.

"Megatron, don't make me have to helm slap you. I would really hate to do that but you might not give me a choice." Starscream stated as he walked closer.

"What are you talking about?" Megatron asked, trying to play it off.

Starscream raised an optic ridge at him and said, "Seriously? I should helm slap you right now for trying to play that off. You still feel bad for what happened to her on our ship. When she was attacked by Spittor. That was not your fault. That Spittor is a slippery slime ball and he would have gotten to her one way or another."

Megatron nodded and said, "True, but still. I didn't watch my surroundings when we left the ship. If I had, he wouldn't have been able to stay behind from the battle."

Starscream shook his helm. "You weren't the only one who knew about the situation and didn't notice. I didn't notice and neither did Malice and you know how close she and Balm had gotten by that point. Plus, you have to look at the positives."

"What positives could there be? I don't see any from that situation." Megatron stated in disbelief. That situation had been terrible and he had made it worse He could not think of anything he did that made it better.

"What are you talking about? You responded swiftly when you found out that Spittor had tortured her. That showed her that you were not as evil as she was taught since she was a sparkling to believe. Also, you saved Balm from getting hit by Spittor's slime when he spat some at her during that meeting. Also, you realized right away that she was nervous once she realized who exactly she was then surrounded by when Spittor had fled. You made sure that the situation was fixed. You are a good leader and, while you have made some fragging poor choices, you knew how to correct them or at least." Starscream stated.

Megatron nodded as the words Starscream said sank through. Yes, he had reacted in the right way. He had taken care of the situation immediately so there could be no doubt on his position on the situation. Sighing, Megatron said, "I guess you are correct Starscream." He then glanced around and said, "Let's go meet up with Pandimala. She is with Tana and the Guardians right now and they are watching Malwing. Pandimala hopes that the little femme will be walking soon."

Starscream nodded so the two of them started off toward Guardian headquarters.

* * *

"Hold it!" Chaom yelled at the mechs around him. He was in the middle of a large support beam that he, Optimus, Blitzwing, and Stormfire were holding the beam while Ness welded it into place. The building that they were working on was close to falling and this support beam would be very helpful to putting it in place.

"_I can't help it I just vant to dance!_" Blitzwing stated as he started to move again.

Stormfire growled and helm slapped the bot before saying, "Keep it together Blitzwing. I really don't want this falling on me."

Of course, since Stormfire hit Blitzwing, Hothead came out and said, "**I am trying to keep control Stormfire but he is very hard to control today.**"

Thankfully, Icy came out and said, "Ok, I think I can hold him off until ve get zis set."

Chaom nodded and the held the beam in place until Ness finally said, "Ok mechs, you can let it go now."

"That is a relief." Optimus said after finally being able to stretch after what seemed like cycles.

But, Chaom knew in reality that it had only been about ten clicks. But, that didn't mean that he wasn't sore. All of the heavy lifting that they were doing was starting to take a toll on his systems. "Hey Storm, how has Balm been?" Chaom asked.

The white jet mech sighed before saying, "She has been recovering very well since it happened. But, she still has nightmares about it, even though she tries to hide it."

"Zhose mechs, if you could even call zem zhat, seemed to know Balm. Do jou know vhen zhey met her?" Blitzwing asked.

Chaom was curious about this too. From the report he got from Pandimala, the mechs had hinted at a previous encounter with Balm where they had tried to do the same thing. And, while he hadn't known Balm for as long as his bondmate had, he knew that she would have told him if she had known anything about her friend being attacked like that. She had told him about the attack on Remcy and how Zarron used to be beat up in the scout training academy as well as Tana's difficulties of being a Guardian at first. But, he hadn't heard a thing about Balm's attack and, from how Pandimala had reacted over the bond when the brothers had insinuated that they had met Balm like that before.

But, it seemed like he wasn't going to get an answer from Stormfire because the mech shook his helm and said, "Sorry, but I won't tell you bots that. That story is for Balm alone to tell if she feels like it absolutely must be told. The only thing that I am allowed to say is that it was in the middle of her tutelage under Ratchet and the only other bots who know about it besides myself, Balm, and Ratchet are Ultra Magnus, Alpha Trion, and Blurr."

Chaom raised an optic ridge in curiosity at that. "Ok, I understand Ultra Magus and Alpha Trion, but how does Blurr know about it?"

Stormfire gave a look that said 'Isn't it obvious?' before he actually said, "Well, he should know since he was the one who saved her the first time."

That caught Chaom by surprise but he knew that Pandimala wanted him to meet her at Guardian HQ so he said, "Hate to go mechs but I need to meet up with 'Mala and Malwing. We are going to be spending some flight time together."

Blitzwing laughed and said, "_Have fun Chaom and tell us how it vent!_"

Chaom let out a laugh and said, "Of course Blitzwing." He then transformed before heading off toward the Guardian headquarters.

* * *

Remcy growled to himself as he typed away at the monitor he was working on. Ever since they had taken Cybertron, he had been charged with trying to trace the Viron teleport trail to find out where their new base of operations was. It was almost as frustrating as the IOE file that he had spent all of that time on. He didn't want to become absorbed into this project but, at the same time, he wanted to find the Virons and make sure that they would never be a threat again.

When he had heard that Zarron had been attacked by his old enemy and then Balm by three that they had never even heard of, he had started to worry. Too many of their old enemies were getting at them, Tana with Pitch and the other Guardian enemies, Pandimala with Sentinel, Balm and the three brothers, and Zarron and Helex and he was worried that his enemy would be next.

Ever since that incident all of those stellar cycles ago, Remcy had been plagued with nightmares about that mech invading his processor again. The incident shouldn't have even happened. He had caught that mech corrupting the information and he had thought that the mech would not attack him. Of course, that was one of the times that he had been extremely wrong.

"Rem, are you ok?"

Remcy turned and smiled when he saw Whirlwind standing there. He knew that she worried about him a lot and he gave her plenty of reasons too.

Sighing, Remcy said, "Yeah, just some old wounds reopening."

Whirlwind gave him a smile that he saw was of understanding and said, "Nightmares coming back again?"

Remcy shook his helm and said, "No, I'm just worried that he is going to be back. You know,"

"Yeah, I know dear. Is it because of all of these appearances?" Whirlwind asked.

Remcy nodded and said, "Yeah, I mean, we all knew about Tana's and Pandimala's enemies as well as Zarron's. Frag, we even knew about Spittor, and he was a recent one for Balm. But, from what we heard about the incident in the comm. room, these brothers have been after Balm since we were all in boot camp and she was with Ratchet."

Remcy then felt his bondmate's clawed servos massage his shoulders before she said, "It is strange dear. Besides Spittor, I would never have expected Balm of all bots to have so many enemies. At least with Tana the bots who are here enemies are against her whole team and not just her singularly."

Remcy nodded and typed a few things before saying, "But, besides that point, I have been trying to locate the Viron base and I have been having problems tracking their teleport signal."

Remcy raised an optic ridge when Whirlwind took the seat next to him and started typing. He stared at her for a few clicks until she turned back to him and said, "What? Please don't tell me you forgot that I am a strategist so I do know how these bots might have been thinking when they packed up shop and disappeared off of Cybertron."

"I know dear but I figured you would want to have some time to relax." Remcy stated.

Whirlwind leaned toward him and gave Remcy a small kiss on the lips before saying, "Dear, being with you and helping you work is relaxing for me. It tells me that you are still with me instead of in the communication network."

Remcy smiled and let out a small laugh before the two of them turned to the monitors and typed away at the keys. As he typed, he was glad that his bondmate was working next to him and that they would hopefully weed out those demons that were the Virons.

* * *

Pandimala smiled as Tana played with Malwing. Pandimala hadn't had much time to visit the Guardians since Malwing had been born and this was actually Malwing's first time in the headquarters. And, to say that she was loving it was an understatement. The little femme hadn't been able to stop moving since she had gotten there.

Though, speaking of her sparkling, Pandimala was worried. She had read that sparklings were normally walking at Malwing's age and yet Malwing was still crawling and climbing like a pro, but no walking.

"Pandimala, Malwing will walk when she is ready."

Pandimala jumped when she heard Chem's voice next to her. "How did you know I was thinking about that?"

Chem let off a chuckle before he said, "Well, besides the obvious worried look on your faceplates, I heard it from a few sources."

Pandimala raised an optic ridge at that and said, "Ok besides you being so mysterious, how are you sure that something isn't wrong with Malwing?"

Chem's smile only confused her more until he said, "Well, my carrier was the exact same when I was little. She told me that I wasn't walking when I was five stellar cycles old. She complained to my sire and asked him to take me to a medic to make sure that something wasn't wrong."

"Five stellar cycles? Are you sure that there wasn't something wrong?" Pandimala asked in shock. Before that revelation, the oldest she had ever heard of a sparkling taking their first steps were three stellar cycles.

Chem shook his helm. "No, there wasn't something wrong. Do you want to know what my sire told her?"

"What?" Pandimala was now very curious.

"Well, he said this. 'Darling, Chem will be walking before he is an adult. He is just taking his own time.' And of course, I walked on their bonding anniversary when the two of them were hugging in celebration." He then put a servo on her shoulder before saying, "So don't worry, Malwing will walk before she is an adult."

Pandimala laughed and said, "Thanks Chem. You know, maybe I should come to you for advice more often."

The doors then opened and Pandimala watched as Chaom walked in.

"You're late." Pandimala jokingly scolded.

Chaom got on his knees in a playful way and said, "Oh my dear mistress, will you ever forgive me for my tardiness?"

Pandimala laughed and put a servo on his shoulder before saying, "Rise my Chaom, you are forgiven."

The two of them then laughed and Chaom said, "But seriously dear, I am sorry. Blitzwing was having trouble controlling Random."

Pandimala gave him a hug and wrapped her arm around his shoulders before saying, "That's alright dear. Nothing too interesting has happened. Well, unless you count Blackbit ending up with his sword and blaster bedazzled."

The sounds of two sets of laughter coming from the door had them all, even Tana and Malwing, turning to the door and Pandimala smiled when she saw Megatron and Starscream standing there.

Blackbit, who was standing next to Tana, shook his helm and said, "Oh ha ha, very funny. I can't wait for it to happen to you all."

"Is that a request Blackbit?" Hindsight asked. Pandimala knew that he and his twin were standing on the other side of the room next to Hinge. According to Hinge, he was making sure that Hindsight and Foresight wouldn't encourage Malwing to prank bots any more than they already did.

They all then let out a laugh. Well, that was until Malwing let out a giggle and said, "Megsy!"

Pandimala sighed and shook her helm and said, "I swear she likes you more then she likes Chaom and I at times Megatron."

The all then laughed in a round of laughter. Pandimala was afraid that it wouldn't stop, that she wouldn't stop, but a gasp of shock from Megatron had them all going silent immediately.

Pandimala saw that Megatron was staring in shock near Tana and Malwing, the former whose optics had been offline due to laughing so hard, and she felt her spark stop in surprise. Happy surprise but still surprise.

Malwing was up on her pedes. It couldn't be. Not after she was just talking about this situation with Chem.

But, Pandimala, and everybot else, then watched, as Malwing took steps toward Megatron. It took Malwing about ten unstable steps but she finally reached Megatron's leg and hugged it, probably more for support but the effect was still there.

Chaom let out a loud laugh and said, "There is all the proof that we need. Megatron, it looks like you have a fan."

"Up Megsy!" Malwing demanded with a smile and her arms up.

Megatron laughed and picked up Malwing. "You know, you are going to make your creators mad at me if you keep doing that. But, you are cute enough to maybe take that risk."

Malwing let out another giggle and everybot in the room laughed at that. "Megatron, I will never be jealous because I will know that she loves us more, even if she sometimes doesn't show it." Pandimala stated with a smile. Pandimala was glad that Malwing had finally walked. It gave her a lot of hope that the future was going to be better.

* * *

**Tana: I normally don't do this but...AWWWW! That was so cute!**

**Pandimala: Yeah, and Malwing is finally walking!**

**Chaom: I'm so happy that she is. **

**Blackbit: Well, I say that we celebrate.**

**Slapjack: First round's on the house! **

***all bots go to Slapjack's***

* * *

**AN: And that was a cute chapter! Malwing finally learned to walk! Next chapter has a surprise in it but I am not saying if it is good or bad. LIke before, please read and review. But no flames.**


	28. Everyday Life…Or Is It?

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Who wants to play a game?**

**Breakdown: What do you have in mind?**

**Pandimala: I don't know, how about that human game where they hide from one person and that one person has to find them?**

**Knockout: I know what you are talking about. But, I think we should play my version of the game.**

**Pandimala: What is that?**

**Knockout: Hide and shriek!**

**Pandimala: *faceplate palm***

* * *

Ch. 28: Everyday Life…Or Is It?

Ultra Magnus couldn't decide whether to look neutral about the whole thing or to burst out into laughter. Standing before him was a Ratchet, but a very, uniquely, painted Ratchet. He had to admit that whoever did this to him held nothing back. Somehow, the culprits had enough time to paint Ratchet's chassis to, not only look like a femme, but to be wearing something that resembled the human's 'yellow polka dot bikini'. And of course, the look wouldn't have looked complete if the culprits hadn't of painted Ratchet pure white, leaving no area untouched.

"What…what happened Ratchet?" Ultra Magnus asked, holding back a laugh.

Ratchet looked furious as he said, "What does it look like happened? I was pranked and I know who by!"

"Who?" Ultra Magnus asked. His processor was now wondering whether he should punish the culprits or give them a medal.

"Hindsight, Foresight, Rumble, and Frenzy! Also, I expect that they had more help since Hindsight and Foresight were on sparkling-sitting duty then but I can't yell at her. But besides that point, I know they did it!" Ratchet yelled.

Ultra Magnus raised an optic ridge at that. "How do you know that they did it?"

Ratchet looked like he was going to blow a fuse. "They were caught on the med bay's security cameras! Now what are you going to do about it?"

Ultra Magnus could only shake his helm. Well, that wasn't the only thing he did. He took a quick picture to keep in his processor to send to 'Mala. She would love it. But, returning his attention back to Ratchet, Ultra Magnus said, "I can't do a thing Ratchet. Hindsight and Foresight are under Pandimala's command and Frenzy and Rumble are under Megatron's. So, unless you want to take it up with the two of them, I would suggest that you go and clean up. Primus knows what would happen if a picture of you like that got around."

Ultra Magnus couldn't hold back a chuckle as Ratchet's faceplate went to one of utter horror as he, what Ultra Magnus could only assume, imagined what would happen if a picture of him like that got out to anybot else. Well, he was already too late but Ultra Magnus wasn't going to tell the medic that. He knew how Ratchet could get if he was really angry at somebot.

"I'll leave you be then. I have to go get cleaned up." Ratchet stated quickly as he ran from the room.

Ultra Magnus let out a laugh at that. Too bad Ratchet didn't know that he had already taken a picture. Speaking of that, Ultra Magnus sent the picture of a fuming bikini Ratchet along with a side note saying what happened to Pandimala and Megatron, for he figured that the Decepticon leader would enjoy it, and smiled. This was the kind of atmosphere that they needed during the after math of the Virons. Glancing around, Ultra Magnus made his way to Kaon, for that was where the Alliance headquarters were going to be since it had withstood the Viron attacks.

* * *

Chaom laughed as he watched Malwing chase after Prowl and Jazz. He was at the headquarters in Kaon with the two of them to try and set up a training room for them to use while they were here. Of course, that had turned into a game of tag the cyber-ninja for Malwing and the two ninjas were having fun letting her chase them.

The reason that Pandimala wasn't there was because she had to go for her regular checkup with Balm. They had decided that it would be best if all bots got checkups after the Viron attack and Pandimala hadn't wanted to go until a majority of the bots had already gotten theirs. So, of course, now was the day where she was getting hers.

"Rowl slow down!" Malwing yelled out in a giggle as she focused her attentions on the motorcycle mech. She could say 'p's in most names but yet she couldn't say it with Prowl's name for some reason. They were trying but it looked like Prowl was going to remain Rowl for a while.

Jazz, of course, let out a laugh at that and said, "I think we are going a little too fast for the little femme."

Prowl shook his helm as they turned their circle before saying, "She is too sneaky for that. Maybe if we, oomph!"

Chaom let out a laugh as Malwing tackled Prowl. His little femme had stopped in her circle and had waited for the two larger mechs to come back in circle, which they had finally, before she jumped up at him.

Prowl let out a laugh as Malwing tickled him. Chaom could see that the ninja bot was enjoying himself and he watched as Jazz let out a laugh before saying, "Hang on Prowler. I'll help you out."

Of course, that helping was to really tickle Malwing. Malwing let out a giggle and Prowl soon joined in on the tickling. Chaom felt his smile grow wider as Malwing tried to squirm out of the two mechs' grips.

"Hey Chaom, are you there?" Chaom heard Starscream's voice come through his comm. link.

"Yeah I'm here. What can I do for you?" Chaom asked. He was surprised that the seeker was calling him. He thought that Starscream was supposed to be meeting with Megatron.

"Megatron hasn't shown up for our meeting yet. Do you know where he was supposed to be before my meeting with him?" Starscream asked.

Chaom thought back to when he had talked to Megatron earlier that solar cycle. It took him a second to remember what was exactly said. "I think that he was going to Tyger Pax. He might still be there."

"Thanks Chaom." Starscream stated before he hung up.

Chaom mulled over the new situation. He wondered what was bothering Megatron. He seemed so, tense, recently and Chaom could only assume that it was from having to reinitiate old war habits while the Virons had been on Cybertron.

* * *

Megatron, well, he could only say that he felt tense. The first time that they had ended a war, he had been able to move nicely into a peaceful atmosphere because he had been tired of fighting for so many stellar cycles. But, with the Virons having attacked Pandimala and her sparkling as well as the fighting being so quick, Megatron's systems were trying to cope with the fact that this fighting hadn't taken as long as the first wars fighting had.

"Chaom thought you might be here."

Megatron turned from where he was staring to see Starscream standing behind him. It was then that he remembered that he had a meeting with his second about the status of Vos recovery.

"I am sorry Starscream. I forgot that we had that meeting today." Megatron apologized. It was funny. During the first war, he wouldn't have ever said sorry to any of his troops. But, Pandimala had taught him that you could still be a respected and powerful leader while being able to apologize for mistakes and even admitting that they happened.

Starscream gave a short nod before walking up and saying, "I figured when you hadn't shown up a cycle later then you said you would. Having trouble getting over the war instincts?"

Megatron nodded and said, "Yes. I think it is because the fighting was so fierce and so quick, my systems jumped immediately back into their old habits and they don't want to come out again." He wanted to get off of the subject so he asked, "How is Vos' recovery coming?"

Starscream must have realized that he wanted to stay clear of the previous subject because the seeker said, "Oh, all is going pretty well. The damage was more superficial than anything else. I guess they knew that Vos would be more of a help to them intact then not. Though, the same cannot be said for Praxus and Iacon from what I have heard."

Megatron nodded and said, "Yes, they left the systems in chaos and it is taking many on the intelligence forces from both sides to get it cleaned up. And of course, Remcy is trying to trace where the Virons have vanished too."

"I don't like things unfinished." The seeker commented.

Megatron nodded and said, "Neither do any of us. That is why Pandimala has him working on tracking them. The last time that the Virons were allowed to be forgotten about, they caused all of this. We don't want that happening again.

"Hey Megatron, are you there?" Megatron heard Pandimala ask from over the comm. link.

"I'm here Pandimala. I thought you were at your checkup?" Megatron asked. They all knew that Pandimala had her checkup and that Chaom was with the two cyber ninjas and Malwing in Kaon.

"I was. I want you and Starscream to go to the main meeting room in our Kaon headquarters. Ultra Magnus is on his way with Alpha Trion." Pandimala stated before hanging up.

"What was that about?" Starscream asked.

Megatron shook his helm and sighed before saying, "I don't know but Pandimala wants us to meet in our main meeting room in Kaon. She says that Ultra Magnus and Alpha Trion are already on their way."

Starscream faceplate palmed before saying, "I swear, if something else happens that isn't going to be good, I am going to blow a circuit. Pandimala doesn't have the best track record when it comes to giving happy information after a checkup without something bad happening."

Megatron nodded and said, "I know, but we had better get there and see what this surprise is going to be." The two of them then transformed before flying back to Kaon. Megatron wasn't sure if he should be dreading this trip or being excited over it. Only time could tell.

* * *

Chaom held his helm in worry as he waited for Pandimala to get to the meeting room where he, Malwing, Prowl, and Jazz were. She had called and said that she had found something out from her checkup and Chaom was afraid that it was going to either be bad news or something was going to happen. It always did.

"Chaom, she is going to be alright. The Virons aren't on Cybertron anymore so they won't be causing Pandimala any problems." Jazz tried to comfort.

But, Chaom wasn't accepting it at the moment and so he said, "But what if she has bad news? What if Balm found something in her systems that was spread from when the Virons were attacking? I just hate the feeling that something is going to go wrong. Plus, she barred our bond for on her trip over and she won't answer me when I try her on the comm. link."

"You're worried too? Good, we didn't want to be the only ones."

Chaom turned and saw Ultra Magnus, Alpha Trion, Megatron, and Starscream all standing in front of the doorway. "What are you mechs doing here?"

"What do you think? Pandimala called us and said for us to get down here. She didn't say what she wanted us here for but I am worried. Something always happens when she decides to have us all gather." Megatron stated.

Chaom groaned and rubbed the side of his helm. His stress was at an all-time high and he just wanted to know what Pandimala was being so secretive about. He hated it when she was like this. If only she could tell him what was going on, he would feel so much better. But of course, she just loved surprises. "I swear that she does this on purpose." Chaom muttered.

Suddenly, Chaom's comm. link went off. "Hello?" He asked.

"Yes, Chaom dear. Could you send Malwing into the hallway for me?" Pandimala asked before she hung up again.

Chaom groaned but turned to Malwing before saying, "Malwing, your carrier wants you in the hallway."

Malwing looked worried but nodded before she quickly walked out of the room.

"That, is not a good sign." Starscream stated.

But, Chaom was surprised when Alpha Trion shook his helm and said, "I don't know about you all, but I have learned that I shouldn't take anything at faceplate value."

Chaom was about to say something in response when the door opened and Malwing ran in, a smile on her faceplate and she was almost bouncing with excitement. Chaom's confusion arose when Pandimala followed in behind Malwing and she seemed to be aglow with excitement, figuratively.

"Pandimala, can you tell us what is going on?" Ultra Magnus asked.

But, Chaom faceplate palmed himself when Pandimala shook her helm and put her servos behind her back before playfully rocking on her pedes and saying, "I'm not saying a peep about it."

Yep, she was definitely hiding something and she wasn't going to spill the answer until she wanted to. Which, according to her own statement, was going to be never.

"Pandimala, you really like playing these games don't you?" Alpha Trion asked.

Pandimala simply allowed her smile to widen before she nodded enthusiastically. Chaom was about to ask her to tell them again when Malwing asked, "Carrier, can I pretty please tell them?"

Pandimala raised an optic ridge at that and asked in a playful way, "I don't know Malwing, do you think that we should tell them? I mean it is a pretty big thing."

Malwing nodded quickly and said, "Yes they should know carrier. Especially sire. So, preeeeeetttttyyyy please?" Chaom couldn't help but smile at the adorable look that Malwing was giving Pandimala.

Pandimala, in her turn, put a digit to her chin and looked up, as if thinking, before smiling back at Malwing and saying, "Yes dear, you can tell them."

All optics in the room then went to Malwing. "Yeah!" She then began to dance around in a circle as a victory dance.

"Malwing, you had better tell them before I do." Pandimala threatened with a smile.

Malwing gasped at her carrier and said, "You wouldn't!"

But, Pandimala's playful nod caused Malwing's optics to widen. "But you said that I could!"

Pandimala let out a laugh before saying, "Then hurry and tell them dear. I don't think that they can take the suspense much longer."

Malwing smiled and nodded before turning to them all. "Carrier says that Balm says that I am getting a little brother or sister."

The room was deathly silent after that and Chaom looked at Pandimala before saying, "You're sparked?"

Pandimala's bright smile filled his spark with joy as she nodded and said, "Yes dear, we are adding another little one to our family."

Chaom ran up to Pandimala and kissed her before picking up Malwing. He then looked over to the others in the room and he could tell that, at least, Megatron, Ultra Magnus, Alpha Trion, and Starscream were on their comm. links. They were probably placing bids in a betting pool about the gender already. He wanted to say that Prowl and Jazz were too but he just couldn't tell with how the two ninjas composed themselves.

Well, at least Pandimala had good news from Balm and nothing bad had happened.

* * *

**Chaom: I'm going to have another kid?**

**Pandimala: YOU? I don't see another spark on yours darling?**

**Chaom: I mean we darling. You knew I meant we...didn't you?**

**Pandimala: *Glares***

**Chaom: *mutters* And there are those fragging mood swings...again.**

* * *

**AN: And voila! Well, not really. But next chapter starts after a big time jump. Next chapter starts fifty stellar cycles (or years) and all of the kids have been born who will be born. You'll get quick introductions to them but then the story is going to move along. We are going to meet both Pandimala's and Anarcum's kids. I will post that tonight. After that, I have one more chapter that I have to type for this chapter and then The End of the Path will meet its end. Get it? Meet its 'END'...ok, my try at comedy...not so good. Just please read and review. But no flames.**


	29. The Rise…

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Is the Authoress ok?**

**Chaom: Why?**

**Tana: Well, she is acting kinda funny.**

**Authoress: *walks up sickly* Time jumps make me feel sick.**

**Megatron: Why?**

**Authoress: Because Primus has to stop me from getting older and it takes a toll on my insides.**

* * *

Ch. 29: The Rise…

_50 Stellar Cycles Later_

"Malwing, can you hold still?" Pandimala asked her oldest creation.

Malwing nodded and stood still as the photographer got ready. Pandimala couldn't believe that it had been fifty stellar cycles since the war with the Virons had been pretty much over. Even though they hadn't actually seen the Virons or heard from them since they had vanished from the raid on Iacon, Pandimala was pretty sure that they wouldn't be bothering Cybertron anymore. The picture that they were taking today was for Chaom to carry around with him since he was at a meeting with Ultra Magnus and Megatron.

In total, Chaom and she had six creations. Malwing, her eldest, had grown into a fine adult femme. In height she was probably about half a helm shorter then Starscream making her a short flyer. Most of her solar cycles were spent mainly with Prowl and Jazz learning how to become a cyber-ninja.

Airlock, her second creation, was a green jet femme and she stood just a little taller than Starscream. Her optics were a bright lime green and the top of her helm was swished to the side, like the wind had blown it like that. She loved training with the larger flyers so she could learn how to take a hit while still being able to fly. She had been taking lessons with from Blackout and Lugnut as of late and she seemed to be enjoying herself.

To Chaom's utter joy, their third creation was Glyph, a red jet mech. He stood around the same height as his sister Airlock and he had a lime green triangle permanent half visor over his left optic and he had a normal lime green optic to serve for his right side. His helm had a strange design on top that reminded balm of jagged three dimensional line design from the right side of his faceplate, over the top of his helm, and to the left side of his faceplate. Her third creation was a brilliant mech but, when pressured, he would stutter and his shy side would shine. He kind of reminded her of Balm when she had first met her at boot camp all of those stellar cycles ago.

Then there was Adobe, her fourth creation. The black and pink jet femme stood just a few inches shorter then Starscream and she had a lime green visor. On her helm, she had a swish like design like Airlock's except for the fact that, at the end of the swish which was on the left side of her faceplate, it split into two tips, both angling down toward her faceplate. Adobe, well, she was the wild one. She loved to take risks and she was always trying to push herself past her limits. Pandimala would have worried except for the fact that Starscream and Stormfire helped with her flying training.

Her fifth creation, Satrap, was another answered prayer for Chaom. Her second mech was a medium blue jet mech and he stood a little taller than Malwing and he had two lime green optics. On his helm, he had two sensory horns, two peaks on each one. Satrap was an intelligence bot and he loved spending time training with Remcy and Blurr when he wasn't busy with his flying lessons.

Finally, her sixth creation, Blitzkriea, had been a very big surprise. Not in the fact that she came, that was expected, but what had surprised them was that she was an exact clone of them in chassis look. Actually, she would have been an exact clone to Pandimala if it had not been for her irregular coloring. Blitzkriea had inherited both of her parents' bright colors and so she was colored lime green and sky blue. Blitzkriea was her only creation who was not an adult yet but she would be in a few solar cycles. Meanwhile, Blitzkriea loved reading whatever data pads she could get her servos on and would usually spend time alone, when not getting lesson from Blitzwing, herself, and Chaom about being a triple changer.

"Ok everybot, look at the camera. One, two…" The camera bot said before it clicked. Then in the monotone voice it normally had, it said, "Ok then, your pictures will be processed and ready for delivery in a few solar cycles. We hope you enjoy your day."

Adobe let out a relieved sigh when the camera bot finally left before saying, "I'm going to see Stormfire. He said that he was going to take me flying over the sea of rust today and I don't want to waste anymore light." She then ran out of the house and Pandimala soon heard the sound of a jet engine speeding off.

Pretty soon, the rest of her creations left to go and do whatever it was that they had on their calendars for the solar cycles. Pandimala smiled as she watched Blitzkriea grab her latest data pad story and walk out, probably to the Crystal Gardens since it was usually the most peaceful place and she knew that her daughter loved to visit the Gardens.

Pandimala then remembered something. "Scrap! I'm supposed to stop by and see Anarcum before I meet Chaom!" She then ran out of the door and transformed into her jet mode before flying out to her brother's house.

* * *

Anarcum faceplate palmed. After the camera bot had left from taking their family picture, Betaxia said she had to go and visit Balm and Malwing for some reason that he forgot. Leaving him at home with their six creations.

About thirty stellar cycles after Pandimala had found out that she was sparked with Airlock, Betaxia had found out that she was sparked with their first sparkling. That sparkling had been Talon, a brown helicopter mech that maybe stood as high as Megatron, probably a little smaller. He had a thinner green visor and he had triangle side fins on the sides of his helm. Talon was a pretty confident mech and he was very protective of his friends. Luckily, not many bots messed with Talon because, while he was around the height of Megatron, he was probably only a little smaller then Bulkhead was now. Talon also loved to train and Anarcum knew that he was a warrior, which was why he would train with the Guardians, Blackout, and Cyclonas.

His second creation came right after, before Pandimala had her third one, and Niche was like her older brother. She was a gray helicopter femme, though quite thin for one, and she was probably around the same height as Megatron. She had a lime green visor and she had three sensor horns on the top of her helm. The one on the right and the middle one stood straight like normal but the left one was a little taller and it was arched over so its tip was hovering right above the one in the middle. Niche, like her older brother, loved training practice. But, instead of training with just the Guardians, Cyclonas, and Blackout, she also tried to get some training in with Megatron when he had time.

Sine, who was born right before Pandimala had Glyph, was a black car femme who had purple stripes. She had green optics and she had two sensor horns on the top of her helm. The right was a normal one but the one on the left was split into two at the tip, like there was two in one. Sine loved to race and she was always trying to break a new record, which sometimes got her into trouble. When not training to be a scout with Zarron and Bumblebee, from what he heard, Sine would go to Radar's restaurant and listen to Radar tell stories.

Kiva, his fourth creation, was interesting. She had a normal right lime green optic and her left optic was covered by a permanent green visor. Her helm shape, well, he could only describe it like how human cartoon bandits would wear the bandanas on their heads and the tie would be on one side. She was a maroon car femme and she had a thing for sales. They found this out the hard way when they had tried to sell Niche in a metal box and had almost convinced the bot she was selling it to that it was just a very big petro rabbit when Niche had started to move around. Luckily, Betaxia had gotten there before any credits were exchanged and had punished Kiva for trying to sell her sister. But, that had told them that she was pretty much destined to be a sales bot. Now that Kiva was older, she was taking lessons from Lockdown and Swindle on how to be a good sales bot and how to find the best prices.

His fifth and sixth creation were twins so they were born at the same time. Both twins had bright lime green optics and their helm designs were identical, a long helmet that went past the bottom of their faceplates and two thin triangle side fins that started on the helmet part and went down at an angle. They were both car bots but that was where the similarities ended. Cortal, the eldest of the two, was a black car mech with red markings and he was Blurr's height. Cortal loved to experiment with things and usually spent time with the science division of the Alliance helping out where he could. Fief, the younger of the two and his youngest, was a black car femme with yellow markings and she was just a little shorter than her brother. Fief loved to listen to music and she was always trying to find new songs that she hadn't heard. She had even asked her aunt Pandimala if she could have the recordings that they did when Pandimala and Chaom were a part of the Metal Aliens on Earth. She would often go to Slapjack's and sing at open mic night, in disguise of course since Fief was shy about her abilities around anybot who wasn't family, and even then she was sometimes hesitant.

"Sine give me that back! I am late for my lessons with Lockdown and Swindle!" Kiva yelled at her sister.

Anarcum groaned and turned to see Sine running around Kiva with what looked like a med kit.

"Catch me first Kiva!" Sine taunted as she continued to avoid her sister's grasp.

Anarcum felt like he was going to shut down from utter exhaustion. Composing himself, he said, "Sine, give Kiva her med kit back so she can get to her lesson." He then thought of something else. "And plus, don't you have training with Zarron and Bumblebee soon?"

Sine's faceplate went to one of shock and she said, "Oh my Primus I completely forgot. I'm going to be late!" She then threw up the med kit into the air before sprinting out of the house. Anarcum shook his helm as he heard tires squealing down the road. That femme was way too hyper.

"Scrap now I am really late. By sire." Kiva said quickly before running outside and transforming before driving off.

The sound of a jet engine outside had him smiling in relief. Finally, some sanity in his life. His smile widened when he heard the sound of a transformation sequence and Pandimala walked through the front door.

"Hey Anarcum, it seems as if most of your family bolted. Did you have to tell them that I was coming?" Pandimala said in a joking way.

Anarcum was confused by her statement until he turned around and saw that the only one of his creations left in the room was Niche. "They are really getting too good at sneaking away." Anarcum sighed.

"Hey Pandimala. How have things been?" Niche asked as she stood by her sire.

Pandimala smiled and said, "Just fine Niche. The only exciting thing was that Chaom fell asleep during the meeting I was at today and everybot at the meeting, including myself, decided to give him a paint."

Niche smiled and said, "Let me guess, ruby red?"

"With sparkles." Pandimala added with a smile. The three of them then burst out into laughter. "Oh, Niche. Tana asked me to tell you that she would love to get some more combat training in today if you want to head on over there."

Niche smiled and nodded before saying, "Ok, I'll head on down. See you later Pandimala. By sire." Niche then ran out of the house before transforming and flying off.

"What took you so long getting down here?" Anarcum asked his sister. He had been expecting her ten clicks ago.

Pandimala sighed and said, "Sorry Anarcum. I almost forgot that I was supposed to stop by before I went to see Chaom."

"That's alright 'Mala. How have things been?" Anarcum asked.

"They have been really great. I haven't had many stressful solar cycles and Blitzkriea is excited about finally becoming an adult." Pandimala said.

"That does sound nice. You know, you should take Blitzkriea off planet before she becomes an adult. You did with the rest of your creations and I did with all of mine. She might feel left out if you didn't." Anarcum suggested. They had started a tradition when Malwing became an adult and Pandimala had to check on one of their space bridges on Velocitron.

"You're right. But, I can't stay long. Chaom is expecting me soon. I'll have to stop by again soon." Pandimala said before she ran out of the house. Anarcum sighed as he listened to her jet engines grow fainter. She had been doing a lot better in the last fifty stellar cycles but he still worried. The Virons were out there somewhere and he knew that they probably still wanted his big sisters helm.

* * *

"Megatron, please tell me you didn't." Starscream asked.

Megatron let off a smirk. Of course he did and Starscream knew that he did. "What? I just put some but some glowing mix into Shockwave's energon. The mech needs to lighten up. You even agreed that he did."

Starscream sighed and said, "Yes, I did. But, I didn't mean to literally light him up. He is going to be very upset. You know how he feels about,"

"Yes, I know." Megatron sighed with a smile. He would have never guessed that Shockwave of all mechs would develop a crush on any bot before the mech had asked him what he should do. Of course, since he had never had a love interest before, he had sent him to Chaom for advice. Of course, that didn't mean that he forgot about his love interest.

"He is going to be embarrassed when the lights go out during one of their crazy experiments." Starscream stated.

Megatron knew this but, if the bot in question liked Shockwave back, then it wouldn't matter. They would laugh it off and then everything would be that much better. "I know what I am doing Starscream."

"Don't you have lessons with Niche today?" Starscream asked.

Megatron shook his helm and said, "No, I gave her the day off and I have heard from Hinge that Tana is going to be doing some training with her."

When Anarcum had first approached him and asked him to train Niche, Megatron hadn't been too sure that he wanted to. But, after their first training day, Megatron say something in Niche and had decided to continue with the training when he had time. Of course, that training time had to come between meetings and making sure that Cybertron's resources stayed at decent levels. It would do them no good to not realize if their energon supply was running low.

Before either of them could say anything, Megatron heard his comm. link go off. "Go ahead, this is Megatron." Megatron stated.

"Megatron, this is Remcy. Can you and Starscream meet me in the main communications room?" Remcy asked.

"Did you locate the Virons?" Megatron asked.

"No, but the situation is still something that I need you and the other leaders here to discuss." Remcy stated.

Megatron sighed. This was not boding to be a good day. "Very well. Starscream and I will be on our way down immediately." He then turned off the link.

"What was that about?" Starscream asked him.

"Remcy said that he wants us in the communication room with the other leaders immediately." Megatron answered.

"Did he say what it was about?"

"No. He just said that he needed us there to discuss it." Megatron responded.

Starscream nodded and motioned to the door before saying, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's see what Remcy is so worried about."

Megatron nodded and the two of them made their way down to the comm. room. Megatron was just hoping that this would end up being something that could be taken care of quickly. He didn't want this to turn into something major. This peace had been going on for too long for it to be ruined by something now.

* * *

Chaom smiled as he watched Pandimala walk into the main meeting room in their headquarters in Kaon. "How has your day been Pandimala dear?" Chaom asked.

Pandimala smiled and said, "It has been going great dear. Things just seem to be getting better and I can't wait for Blitzkriea to become an adult. She is so excited."

Chaom nodded and said, "Agreed sweetspark. Where is she at now?"

Pandimala smile softened and she said, "I think she went to the Gardens to read one of those stories of hers." Pandimala then paused before saying, "Darling, we need to take Blitzkriea for an off planet trip before she becomes an adult. Anarcum reminded me that we haven't done it for her yet and I don't want her to be the only one of our creations to never go off planet."

Chaom could have faceplate palmed himself. He had completely forgot that they did that for their creations. He and Pandimala didn't like them going off world too much because they knew that the Virons were still out there. But, they believed that they should at least be allowed off world once before they were adults and they had almost forgot.

Chaom when to respond to that when Pandimala held up a digit. She must be on a comm. link connection with somebot. After listening for a few clicks, Pandimala finally turned to him and said, "That was Remcy. He wants us to come down to the communications rom immediately."

"Is it the Virons?" Chaom asked. That would be their luck. Just before they want to take their youngest creation on her first off world trip, the Virons would show up. Of course, he and Pandimala had made a backup plan just in case one of them offlined. After they had Blitzkriea, they both promised to each other that they would never offline themselves or try to get themselves offlined if the other was offlined. They knew that they kept giving hope to the Alliance and they couldn't risk that hope.

But, he was relieved when Pandimala shook her helm and said, "No, he said that it wasn't them. He just wants all of us leaders down there."

Chaom nodded and the two of them made their way down to the main comm. room. When they arrived, Chaom as surprised to see Ultra Magnus with Optimus, who had been named his second command after things had settled down on Cybertron, along with Megatron and Starscream.

"Ok Remcy, what is going on?" Megatron asked. They must have been waiting for the two of them to arrive.

Remcy typed a few things in and one of their space bridges on a distant asteroid popped up. "Space bridge 455-7SB has been showing signs of fluctuation and there have been strange energy signatures picked up near there. Bulkhead will be going up and I figured that you all would want to go up to investigate those mysterious signals."

They all nodded in the affirmative and then an idea came to Chaom. "Remcy, you don't think it will be too dangerous, do you?"

He felt relieved when Remcy shook his helm and said, "I don't think so. The energy readings weren't very powerful and Bulkhead says that the bridge shouldn't be too dangerous to be near when he is fixing it. Why?"

But, instead of answering him directly, Chaom turned to Pandimala and asked, "Pandimala, what do you think about taking Blitzkriea with us?"

Pandimala smiled and said, "I think that this would be a nice experience for her. Call her up and ask her if she wants to come."

Chaom nodded and activated a comm. link to his youngest creation.

It didn't take long for Blitzkriea to answer. "Hey sire. Is there something I could do for you?"

Chaom let out a light laugh and said, "Nah. Your carrier and I, along with the rest of the leaders, are going to check out some mysterious energy signatures by one of our space bridges and we thought that you might want to come for your trip off world."

"You mean that I would be able to go off world? I thought that you two forgot." Blitzkriea stated with obvious excitement that came in through their creator-creation bond.

Chaom let out a big laugh before saying, "Of course dear, that means you can come off world and of course we didn't forget. So, do you want to come?"

The response was immediate. "Of course I do. Can you have Remcy teleport me to your location? I'm in the Gardens."

Chaom smiled and said, "Of course dear. See you in a few nano-clicks." Chaom then turned to Remcy and said, "Teleport Blitzkriea here please Rem."

Remcy nodded and typed a few things into the console. A few clicks later, Blitzkriea appeared in front of them all. Pandimala smiled and walked up to their creation before saying, "Are you ready dear?"

Blitzkriea nodded excitedly before saying, "You bet! I have been waiting so long for this day."

Chaom smiled and turned to Remcy as the bot said, "Ok then. Bulkhead is already there working on the bridge. You all stay safe now." He then typed a few things into the console. It didn't take long for the scene in front of Chaom to disappear.

* * *

**Pandimala: This is going to be nice. We are going on a trip with our youngest. This should be very relaxing.**

**Chaom: I'm worried dear.**

**Pandimala: Why?**

**Chaom: Well, Authoress put dots in the title. That usually means a part two. And I am getting a bad feeling about this.**

* * *

**AN: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I know that this is a lot of new bots to learn about but I needed the kids for the fourth story. Some play major roles and I had to introduce them before then. Of course, there will be romance. I wonder if any of you can guess who Shockwave's got a crush on. There are some other romances hinted at slightly in this. I wonder if you can guess any? If you all want to know, all of the kids will end up getting together with bots that you have already met. Most are with cannon characters but at least one is with another OC. Until next chapter though *holds back tears* please read and review. But no flames.**


	30. …Before the Fall

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Primus: This, is strange.**

**Unicron: I know brother.**

**Authoress: What?**

**Primus: You are allowing us in this part. You usually only allow bots who are in the story in here.**

**Authoress: *silence***

**Unicron: She has something planned.**

**Primus: Yes, and it is something that her characters will not like.**

* * *

**AN: Please read the AN at the end of the story. It is vitally important for your sanity.**

* * *

Ch. 30: …Before the Fall

Something felt off to Ultra Magnus as soon as the teleport brought them to the asteroid. These events, the space bridge malfunction along with the new energy signals, were worrying him. It may have been just old war habits trying to nip at him but, he was afraid that it might end up much more badly than that.

"This is awesome!" Blitzkriea stated in awe.

Ultra Magnus glanced at Pandimala's youngest creation and smiled. This was her first time off planet and he hoped that the young femme enjoyed it. Of course, he couldn't wait for her to feel the effects of the gravity change.

"Um, can somebot get me down?" Blitzkriea suddenly asked.

They all looked at her and let out chuckles when they saw that Blitzkriea was upside down and floating up into space.

Pandimala let out a laugh before walking up to her daughter and bringing her down before saying, "Activate our gravitizers. The gravity out here is a lot less then it is on Cybertron."

Blitzkriea nodded and soon, the femme was back to standing on her own. "Thanks carrier."

Chaom then walked up and said, "What are we waiting for? Let's go find Bulkhead and make sure that he is ok before we go and try to find those signatures."

They all nodded and started to make their way toward the space bridge. Since the asteroid they were on was pretty large, the walk to the bridge was going to take about six clicks, if nothing stopped them first. Those signals were still bothering him. There weren't many energy signatures that the Alliance database didn't have on record and it was rare for one to be as close as this one was to Cybertron. It worried him because he didn't want anything near the bots he cared about that could possibly hurt them.

"Ultra Magnus, are you ok?" Optimus asked.

Ultra Magnus turned to his second in command and nodded before saying, "I'm just fine Optimus. Just worried about those energy signatures. We have most on record and now we are picking up some this close to Cybertron? Something isn't adding up."

Optimus nodded and said, "I see. These energy signatures might be something dangerous?"

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "They very well could be and I don't want anybot getting hurt from them. Can you imagine how Pandimala and Chaom would feel if their youngest creation was hurt by whatever is giving off these signals?" He didn't want to think about it, but he had to consider everything. Pandimala and Chaom would never let their children out of their sights again. Well, at least not for a while but it would cause major tension in the family. And tension was something that they did not need.

Optimus' optics widened in realization. "Things would be a lot more stressful on Cybertron."

"Exactly. So, I am trying to keep my optics open for any signs of trouble. Something, I'm not sure what, but something seems off about this entire mission." Ultra Magnus said. The two then fell quite as they followed the others to where the space bridge was.

* * *

Megatron felt, nervous. These energy signals seemed to have them all on edge and he knew that they should. These energy signals had just popped up out of nowhere and the database had no record of them before. As a Decepticon, he knew that when something didn't seem right, it usually wasn't.

"You worried about the signals?" Starscream asked.

Megatron nodded and said, "They don't seem right. And when something doesn't seem right,"

"It usually isn't. I know. They have me worried too. I don't like it how they are this close to a space bridge. We know what the space bridges could do in enemy servos." Starscream stated.

Megatron hadn't thought about the space bridge. He knew that it was one of his main goals during the first war to secure the space bridges because they allowed for direct access to Cybertron. If the Virons were still out there, he was sure that they would try and get to one as quickly as possible so they could attack the center of Iacon. But, since they hadn't actually tried when they had first kicked them off of Cybertron, Megatron hadn't thought much about it. Now, though, with all the strange events happening, he was now thinking that this might all be connected and it was making him even more on edge.

"Let's hope that hasn't happened." Megatron responded to his second in command. Starscream nodded and so they continued on in silence.

After about three clicks, they arrived at the space bridge and they saw Bulkhead tinkering with something inside. Megatron still couldn't not be surprised every time he saw that bot working on a bridge. His appearance made him look like a bot who was supposed to be solely a warrior. It just continued to remind him that appearances were always deceiving.

"How go the repairs?" Ultra Magnus asked Bulkhead.

Bulkhead looked up from his work and said, "I've been able to fix the fluctuations but I am having trouble figuring out what caused them in the first place."

"What do you mean Bulkhead? Wasn't it something in the wiring that caused it to fluctuate?" Megatron asked, genuinely curious. He knew that most problems were caused by internal wiring. If, somehow, the wiring wasn't responsible, then Megatron wasn't sure what could possibly have done it.

"I mean that, when I fixed the wiring, there were still fluctuations happening. I used an energy dampener to stop the rest of the fluctuations but I haven't been able to locate a source for them. It is weird." Bulkhead answered.

Great, just what they needed. Another weird thing to add to the already rapidly growing list. If this solar cycle got any weirder, he would just have to,

Megatron froze as his wings picked up something. It was a change in the figurative air around them that was caused by something he couldn't see. Something that was behind them. When he glanced at Starscream, their optics met and he knew exactly what was wrong.

"EVERYBOT HIT THE DECK!"

* * *

Pandimala wasted no time in pulling Blitzkriea to the ground as soon as Megatron yelled that. She trusted his senses and knew that he must have sensed something nearby that was dangerous.

The sound of a blaster shot coming overhead proved this to be correct. "Everybot find cover. It is an ambush!" Pandimala yelled as she stood up. She had to make sure that everybot was alright and heading to cover.

The others nodded and, while dodging fire, they all retreated in different directions to try and dodge the blaster fire. Pandimala soon followed and ended up in a hiding spot with Chaom and Bulkhead. Glancing around, Pandimala began to panic. "Where's Blitzkriea?" She all but shrieked.

The three of them looked around for her youngest charge and, at first, Pandimala couldn't see her. Then, after a click, she watched as Blitzkriea popped out from behind her cover to fire retaliation shots at whoever was firing at them. But, to her worry, she noticed that there was no one behind those boulders with her.

"We need to get to Blitzkriea." Chaom stated. He must have seen her too.

"No, what we need is to draw fire away from her." Pandimala stated. "And I know exactly how to." She then stepped out of hiding and said, "If you are sentient, then come out and fight us like real beings, unless courage is a strange concept to you."

The firing of blasters stopped. Pandimala was honestly surprised that had worked. She knew the odds hadn't been great for her but she had hoped that this would happen.

But, that surprise soon turned to anger when she watched some of the Virons come out. And, in the center of them all, was Sentinel.

"Why Pandimala, it is a surprise to see you here. I was hoping to just reel in some unsuspecting lower rank bots but I got one better." Sentinel stated.

Pandimala growled at the mech and said, "You are not leaving here online."

Sentinel smirked and said, "I was just about to say the same thing to you. Of course, I would have added that neither your bondmate nor you daughter are going to be leaving here online as well."

Pandimala felt a small string of panic rise in her systems but she bat it down as she said, "You won't be able to touch them."

Sentinel's growing smirk caused her to show a little of her panic as he said, "Too late."

A shriek ringing through the air and the sound of a blaster shot stopped Pandimala's spark beat and she turned to see her daughter scrambling to stand up and Nightfreeze aiming a smoking blaster at her. Of course, her spark started beating again when Blitzkriea automatically responded with a shot from her shoulder cannons. That training had paid off.

Movement from next to her cause Pandimala to take out both of her broadswords and she barely raised them in time to stop Sentinel's two lances from slicing her. He seemed to have gained another one. After their strokes met, the area went into chaos. Blades were flying at blades and punches were being dodged and thrown.

"Come on Sentinel. Fifty stellar cycles later and you still can't land a hit. Did you take a vacation during our sabbatical?" Pandimala taunted the mech.

Sentinel growled and said, "No, I have been training fiercely for this day. All those stellar cycles of waiting are now going to pay off. You will offline this day."

Pandimala growled and went to attack the mech in front of her again when a strange humming sound caught her audio receptors. At first she thought it was a blaster and looked around for the source.

The loud bang that filled the air caused all bots to freeze. That was, until, the spacebridge suddenly jumped to life and started to suck everything around it toward it.

"Scrap! Everybot behind the rocks!" Pandimala yelled to the Alliance members. Slowly, they all started to make their way. When she finally made it close to the rocks, Pandimala thought that she was the last one. But, she soon realized that there was one bot missing.

"Carrier help!"

Pandimala turned in a panic and saw that Blitzkriea had gone off balance and was slowly being pulled toward the space bridge. Wasting no time, Pandimala made her way to her creation. Once she had a hold of her, she held onto her shoulders tightly and said, "Just stay close to me sweetspark. Everything is going to be ok."

Then, as they were making their way across, Pandimala growled when a blaster shot when behind them. Those fragging Virons were trying to take her out while she was helping Blitzkriea. No more determined than before, Pandimala helped Blitzkriea across the battlefield and to the rocks that most of the Alliance was hiding behind. She noticed that Megatron and Starscream were sneaking over to try and attack the Virons to provide a distraction.

Once they were close enough, Pandimala pushed Blitzkriea in front of her and said through her bond, **Chaom, reach out your servo!**

Not even a nano-click later, Pandimala saw the familiar servo reach out from behind the rocks and Chaom's faceplate soon joined them. Valuing the protection of her creation over that of her own, Pandimala pushed Blitzkriea closer while saying, "Grab your sire's servo!"

Blitzkriea listen and Pandimala was relieved when Blitzkriea was pulled behind the boulders. Not wasting any time, Chaom back around and said, "Pandimala give me your servo!"

Well, she certainly didn't want to stay out here any longer so Pandimala made her way to taking the few steps that separated her and Chaom.

"No!" Pandimala yelled out as a blaster shot landed right in front of her, throwing her away from Chaom and toward the out of control space bridge. As she tumbled toward the bridge, her processor searched for a way out of her predicament and, just as suddenly as she started thinking, the answer hit her. Taking both of her broadswords in servo, Pandimala stabbed them into the ground as hard as she could, one after the other.

As she felt her chassis rise due to the strength of the bridge, Pandimala realized that she just had to hang onto her swords until the bridge lost power and then she would be alright. Glancing at Chaom and Blitzkriea, she forced a smile on her faceplates to show them that she was alright.

That show could only last the briefest nano-second though, as another blaster shot fired and, while the swords didn't leave the ground, her servos slipped and Pandimala found herself tumbling toward the space bridge. As she was lifted into the air, Pandimala knew that she had to be close to the bridge.

A sharp yelp escaped her vocalizer as she felt her back slam against the upper corner of the bridge's edge. Pandimala knew that this was her last chance so she reached out with a desperate servo and latched on. She was relieved when she felt herself stop in her movements.

But, the fear came back to her once more as she felt the bridge fight with her. Glancing around the area, Pandimala could see the scared looks in everybot's optics and, while she wanted to put on a brave faceplate, to show them that she wasn't scared, she couldn't lie to them like that.

Pulling at the edge of the bridge, Pandimala tried to pull against the strength of the bridge to try and get back to the surface of the asteroid. But, as she was, she glanced up and saw Sentinel holding a blaster aimed right at her. Glancing to the side, Pandimala saw that Ultra Magnus and Megatron were trying to get to Sentinel but she knew in her spark that they were going to be too late.

Putting on a brave faceplate, Pandimala opened her bond with Chaom and said, **Chaom, tell the kids that I will always love them. And Chaom, **She then paused, the fear she was feeling choking her thoughts, before she got out, **Remember your promise and I will always love you, from now until the end of existence.**

**PANDIMALA NO!** Pandimala heard Chaom yell through their bond.

But, just as he said that, Pandimala felt the blaster shot hit right below her servos. Falling into the bridge, she couldn't think of anything.

Suddenly, a burning white light enveloped her and Pandimala let out a cry of pain so terrible that Unicron felt sadness in his spark.

"AHHHHHH!" Pandimala yelled out as the light hit her full force. Then, everything was cold and dark.

* * *

Chaom could only stare when Pandimala lost her grip on the bridge and fell toward it. He would find her, he would,

The bridge suddenly exploded and a pain that would put the Pits to shame seared into his spark. "AHHHH!" Chaom screamed out in agony as he griped his spark. Pandimala was gone. Her bond was gone, he couldn't feel her. The pain was so much that he sank to his knees and servos before replacing his right servo over his spark. It was a hollow echo. She was gone.

* * *

The only thing racing through Blitzkriea's processor as she watched her carrier hang on for her life was that this was all her fault. If she had been able to get away before the bridge went crazy, her carrier wouldn't have had to,

"AHHHHH!" Blitzkriea heard her scream of agony join in with her sire's. The pain was intense and, with the glowing heat coming from the space bridge, Blitzkriea knew that the bridge had exploded. She couldn't stop the pain. She fell to her servos and clutched her chestplate with her right servo. The bond was gone. Her carrier was no more.

* * *

"Anarcum, you are so embarrassing." Betaxia groaned while faceplate palming herself.

Anarcum laughed as he, Betaxia, Malice, Pandemonium, and Balm played in a game of charades. Of course, Anarcum had to try and represent an ancient predacon and he was having some fun with it.

"Come on dear, I'm not that bad." Anarcum stated with a smirk.

They all laughed and Malice said, "Come on dear. We aren't going to guess what you are doing if you don't"

Malice suddenly stopped talking and Anarcum was about to wonder why when a searing pain ran through his spark.

"AHHHH!" He heard his cry of pain mix in with his creators' cries. He couldn't stand because of the pain and he fell to his knees and servos. The pain was wracking his spark and he delved inside to find the problem. It was when he came to his bond with his sister that his spark seared into even greater pain.

He heard his screams continue to echo with his carrier's and sire's it wasn't possible and yet it had happened. He couldn't believe it and yet all of the evidence was there.

"Anarcum what's wrong?" Betaxia asked him in worrier and he felt her servos on his shoulders.

Through the pain that he was feeling, Anarcum barely managed to look at his mate before he cried, "She's gone Betaxia! Pandimala is gone!"

* * *

Malwing sighed as she focused her thoughts. She was with Prowl and they were practicing their meditations. They would do this for about three clicks a day before they would practice their moves.

"Just focus your thoughts Malwing. Try to block out all outside distractions. Listen to your spark." Prowl guided.

Malwing nodded and centered her thoughts on her spark. It was then that she heard the steady beat and she felt at peace.

"AHHHH!" Malwing screamed as searing pain ripped through her spark.

Prowl was up instantly and at her side as she knelt on the ground. "What's wrong Malwing?"

Malwing looked up at him with sad, terrified optics before saying, "My carrier, Prowl, she's gone!"

* * *

Airlock was smiling on the inside as she flew into back into the air. While she had just been knocked down, she knew that she was getting better. Lugnut's hit on her had only been because the currents had changed and she had been trying to stabilize herself when he hit.

"Are you alright Airlock?" Lugnut asked.

"Yeah, just a little upset that I got hit." Airlock stated with a laugh. She then began her ascent back into the air to try again. But, as she was about to try and level out, a searing pain filled her spark.

"AHHH!" Airlock screamed as she fell back toward the planet below. Her instinct had told her to transform back into her bipedal mode so she did and she couldn't stop herself as she slammed into the ground.

While the pain of the fall hurt, nothing hurt more than the pain that she was feeling in her spark. Something was wrong. Delving in, she finally realized what it was and screamed out in both sorrow and pain.

"Airlock what happened? Are you alright?" Lugnut asked as he and Blackout stood next to her.

Airlock was in so much pain that she barely got her answer out. "My…my carrier. She's…g…gone!"

* * *

Glyph hummed to himself as he walked down the streets of Iacon. He had one of the songs that he had heard Jazz playing and dancing to in the square. It had been a catchy tune and he hadn't been able to get it out of his helm.

"Hey Glyph!"

Glyph turned and smiled when he saw Jazz and Springer walking up to him. Waving at the two, Glyph started to make his way over.

"AHHHH!"

A searing pain ripped through Glyph's spark and he felt himself fall to the ground. As he was screaming, the crowds had backed away and he saw Jazz and Springer run up to him. The pain in his spark, though, it wouldn't go away. After investigating in his spark a little, Glyph found the reason why he was in pain and he began to wail out in both pain and sadness.

"Glyph what's wrong?" He heard Jazz asked in worry and Glyph felt two different servos rest on his shoulders.

Through the pain that he was feeling, Glyph looked up at the two mechs. "My…Carrier. She's…she's…g…gone!" The two mechs above him just stared at him in shock.

* * *

"Adobe, you need to slow down up here. You could get hurt." Stormfire said to Adobe.

Adobe smiled and laughed before saying, "You just can't catch me Storm!" She then pulled into a climb and, once she reached the top, began to go into a steep dive. "This is amazing!" Adobe yelled out.

But, right before she was going to climb out of her dive, a searing pain tore through her spark.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Adobe screamed out. Even though she knew it was a bad thing, her instincts drove her to transform into her bipedal mode. The pain in her spark was so great that she couldn't stop herself as she slammed into the ground below.

Most bots would have been silenced by the shock of landing so hard but Adobe just continued to scream her vocals out. The pain in her spark was ripping her to shreds.

"Adobe what happened?" Stormfire asked as he landed next to her and started to care for a wound on her side.

But, Adobe didn't care about that at the click. Glancing at Stormfire with panicked optics, Adobe yelled, "My Carrier Stormfire! Pandimala is gone!"

* * *

Satrap hummed silently as he walked into the science division. He had called Alpha Trion to see if he could come by for a visit and the bot had said that he was at the science building. So, Satrap had decided to go to the ancient bot.

Walking into the main room, Satrap smiled when he saw his cousin Cortal working on something with Shockwave and Wheeljack. He was pretty sure that his cousin would end up blowing something up one solar cycle soon.

"Hey Sat, what are you doing here?" Cortal asked him.

Just then, Alpha Trion and Blurr walked into the room and Satrap said, "I'm here to see Alpha Trion."

Alpha Trion then smiled at him and said, "Satrap, what can I do for you today?"

Satrap opened his mouth but, instead of words coming out, something else did.

"AHHH!"

The scream was filled with so much agony that every bot in the room jumped and stared at Satrap as he fell to his knees and placed his right servo over his chestplate above his spark.

"No, no, no this can't be happening." Satrap muttered to himself through the pain.

"What is it Sat? What is wrong?" Blurr asked in a slower way then he normally talked but still pretty fast.

But, Satrap wasn't sure that he could say it out loud. Glancing at the bots in the room, he saw that most of them were waiting for him to speak. But, as he laid optics with Alpha Trion, he could tell that the old mech knew what he was going through.

"Who was it?" Alpha Trion asked as he knelt down in front of Satrap.

"What do you mean Alpha Trion?" Cortal asked.

Alpha Trion sighed and said, "One of Satrap's bonds has been fiercely taken out and I am asking him whose bond it was. Since he isn't bonded, it has to be either one of his siblings or his creators."

They all then looked at him and Satrap fought through the pain that was still eating at his spark along with the sadness of what had happened.

Satrap was surprised when Blurr hugged him and said, "Come on Sat, tell us who it was."

Satrap leaned his helm into Blurr's shoulder and said, "It was my carrier. She is gone." He then broke down and wept on Blurr's shoulder, the other bots in the room coming over to comfort him as well.

* * *

**Primus: Oh, this is not good.**

**Unicron: But, if she is willing to do that to her main character that she molded and created, what hope is there for anybot else.**

**Primus: Indeed brother. *glances around* Wait, I don't,**

***Authoress bans both from viewing area***

**Authoress: This...is a sad day indeed. *walks away* That was too close.**

* * *

**AN: And, this is the end. I just want to thank all of my readers out there who have followed me through all of Pandimala's good and bad times, along with the times of her friends. I now say my sweet goodbye and hope that you all have a wonderful life ahead of you.****...Just kidding! There is an epilogue after this and I already have the fourth story started. Not quite sure what I am going to call it but I have a few names up in my wonderfully insane head here. I should be posting the epilogue soon. So, until then, I would love for you all to read and review. But no flames.**


	31. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Authoress: Ok, I am lifting the ban on Primus and Unicron. They know to keep their traps shut about that topic for now...don't they?**

**Unicron: Yes ma'am.**

**Primus: Yes Authoress. So, this is it, right?**

**Authoress: Yes, it is.**

**Primus: I see many challenges on the road ahead for you Authoress.**

**Authoress: You don't know that half of it.**

* * *

Epilogue

_From the Sea of Rust to the Crystal Gardens_

_To the top of the highest building, to the bottom of the deepest abyss_

_Her memory will ring true, Her memory will ring on._

The 'funeral' procession was one of the most solemn sights. Almost every single bot in the procession had painted their chassis pure black. The streets were lit with no electric lights, only the glowing of thousands of candles that were held by the bots who lined the streets of Kaon.

Even though the body of Pandimala was not able to be recovered, they were processing data pads filled with scenes of her life and he two broadswords, which were being carried at the front of the procession by her bondmate Chaom, the only bot in the procession allowed to keep his normal coloring.

It had been decided that the memorial to which they were processing would be at the Triune Headquarters in Kaon, in honor of where she grew up.

_From every source of happiness, from every font of truth_

_To the edges of the galaxy, to the corners of our thoughts_

_She will lead true, She will guide on._

When the close friends and family of Pandimala arrived at the doors of the base, the procession stopped. These bots stood in silence for a click before, in single file behind Chaom, the close friends and family proceeded inside. The bots on the outside would be able to watch the proceedings on the vid screens on the outside. Every bot outside then watched Chaom as he walked alone to the room where the memorial would be.

_From the sparks of the family she leaves behind, from the lessons she taught_

_From the Cybertronians of today, to the generations of tomorrow_

_Pandimala will live true, Pandimala will live on._

When Chaom entered the room, he sat down Pandimala's swords gently before grabbing the first data pad. It was a memory donated by Pandemonium and it was when he first saw Pandimala after she was born. Chaom felt a longing in his spark as he put the pad on the slot on the wall when he saw her smile. He already missed it dearly and it had only been one solar cycle since her death.

He then placed the remaining data pads in chronological order. There were memories from her youngling hood all the way up to just the other solar cycle when they were getting the first of their pictures taken together as a family. Chaom had donated this memory.

He then turned his gaze to his favorite memory of her, the one when they sang together at the end of the Halloween concert and confessed their love to each other. That memory was the center data pad in the room.

Chaom then turned to her swords and stared at them before picking them up, spark heavy with grief and despair, before inserting them in the designated slots on a display shelf in front of the Halloween memory.

As soon as they clicked in place, Chaom fell to his servos and knees before punching the floor and allowing the sadness to flow through before, after a few clicks, he sealed all of his bonds he had.

_Your memory will live in the sparks of all who remember your teachings._

_Let your guiding hope continue to lead us through our lives. _

_May your spark find peace with Primus._

_Eternally may your memory live._

* * *

The ferocity of the wind could only be matched by the subzero temperatures on this desolate piece of land. Glaciers were a dominant structure and nothing seemed to challenge them. The land seemed to go on forever.

A flash of light disturbed the monotonous routine of the night as it filled the sky. A loud band immediately followed the light and echoed through the air. As soon as the light disappeared, a large burning mass fell from the atmosphere. It looked like it would hit one of the taller glaciers but its course veered and it slammed through the ice ground, melting a path deeper and deeper into the surface.

The wind still kept blowing.

* * *

**Primus: That, was strange. Though it does,**

**Authoress: *bans Primus* *glares at Unicron* You want to try?**

**Unicron: No ma'am.**

* * *

**AN: Well, that was the official end of The End of the Path. That poem thing in between the story lines here was made up by myself and it took forever! Of course, crying every few words does not help the timing along any.**

**The next story is already started and it has a name... Resurrection of a Journey. It will probably be up either tonight or tomorrow depending on how I am feeling. It is going to start with another time jump but it will be explained, somewhat. Also, we will be meeting some more OCs as well as some characters that have been known in other universes. Also, the story will...well...I'll let you all see when I upload the story. Until then though, please read and review on this story. But, please, no flames unless you feel a burning need to.**


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